Japan's Special Victims Unit: The Ripper
by XxKonoha-DemonxX
Summary: Blood runs cold when a killer posing as Jack the Ripper attacks Japan. JVSU must do everything to stop him-even if it means sacrificing everything. But when Sakura is targeted, can Sasuke save her before saving himself as well? Rated M for reasons ;
1. Chapter 1

**_Okay, so picture this: A killer decides to become the copy cat Jack the Ripper and targets all the prostitutes in South Japan. Emotions begin to run umuck(lol idk how to spell that) and tentions run high. Sweat rolling down your back when you feel like you're being stalked, only to see yourself from the big clouds ahead, your lifeless body hanging from a dumpster or lying on the sidewalk. Yeah, that's pretty much how Sasuke and Sakura feel at this point because the killer isn't only after the prostitutes, but them as well!_**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Taxis and cars passed by the sidewalk quickly, picking up people on their way around the blocks. Some honked their horns at other cars or pedestrians crossing in front of their paths and they scurried out of the way. Japan lit up perfectly at night, the lights from the buildings lighting up the streets. There were hardly any crimes committed there since the new police force came into action the year before, the rookies catching on quickly to the cases they received. On the other side of the sidewalk, two people walked briskly, one clutching her purse while the other one was trying to convince her to listen to him.

"Wait! Please just listen to me for a second!" the man shouted. The woman lifted her nose in the air and looked at him from the corner of her eye.

"I'm not going to come back to you, Kaoru!" she shouted back. "I caught you in the act! You were with that whore you yourself said was no one you knew! And now you're in _bed_ with her?"

"She came on to me! I tried to stop her, Kiki! I swear!"

"Yeah, with your pants down!"

"Please understand-Oh my God…" The man stopped in his tracks as he looked down an alley where something was sticking out from the dumpster. The woman watched him as he inched closer into the alley to investigate the object in the dumpster, moving slowly in case something jumped out at him. Once he was out of her sight, the woman followed him carefully and warily, not liking the atmosphere. Suddenly, the man began running backwards, his hand over his mouth in horror as he looked back at the dumpster.

"Kaoru? What's-OH MY GOD!" She screamed when she saw the dead body of a woman hanging out of the dumpster, staring blankly at the starry sky as blood dripped from the slit in her neck.

* * *

The phone rang through the whole apartment, immediately waking the sleeping inhabitant. The person grumbled and stumbled to the phone on the other side of the room, tripping a couple times over strewn clothes in the process that had been lazily put there. Getting there on the third ring, the person picked it up.

"Detective Haruno here," the girl announced. She nearly dropped her phone when a screaming voice shrieked back at her.

"Where the hell are you, Haruno?" her boss yelled. "You were supposed to be here over an hour ago!"

"What?" the young detective yelled. She looked at the clock and saw it was five in the morning. "But I don't have to be in for another hour!"

"Day light savings!" she heard in the background. Groaning loudly, she murmured an apology and slammed the phone back on the receiver before going to get ready for work. SVU, or Special Victims Unit, helped those who experienced rape and homicide in their lives, and they would solve the murders until the suspects were brought in for their sentence in court. They would go without sleep for days until they caught the rapists and murderers, leaving no evidence behind. Sakura Haruno was one of those cops that specialized in rape victims, being one herself when she had been a teenager and her rapist had never been caught. She devoted herself to catching murderers and rapists like hers with the help of her comrades, who also wanted to help her in her time of need.

Sakura squealed in pain as she rounded the corner and stubbed her toe on a chair leg, pulling her dress on she wore to work. It came to the top of her knees and tied in the back, the bow it created in the back drooping in the back along with her mood that day. It was blue and swayed with every move of her hips, attracting their targets most of the time instead of them finding them. She pulled on the inch heels that went with it and turned another corner sharply, grabbing her small backpack that was slung on the hat pole near the door.

"Bye Mom! Bye Dad! Take care of the house!" Sakura yelled to the picture of her parents on the bar top. They had died in the attack when Sakura was raped, her mother being a victim while her father had been forced to watch. Sakura sped down the stairs, the heels making loud clacking sounds on the metal steps as she ran down them. Her neighbor looked out her door and when she saw Sakura run past, she shook her head and smiled hopelessly. _'When will that girl ever learn to be on time?'_ she thought as she closed her door.

* * *

"Where she at?" a man whined to his partner. The man beside him sighed and shrugged, flipping through his magazine in boredom. "You know, you should have at least told her that today was day light savings, ya know?"

"Stop whining," the man finally said. "She'll be here soon."

"What makes you say that?" The man held up his cell phone and his partner squinted at it, reading the text Sakura had sent: _'Will be there ASAP! Oh, btw, I'm gonna kill you Sasuke!'_ "Haha! You got yelled at, Sasuke!" The man named Sasuke clicked his tongue and crossed his arms angrily, his eyes closed against his partners bantering. Sasuke Uchiha was one of Sakura's partners and possibly the hottest man in the country of Japan, or according to all the women in the country. The only emotion he ever showed was anger and the occasional soft spot for kids, but when he was jerked the wrong way, things could turn nasty in the blink of an eye. Except one, and that was Sakura Haruno. She would be able to control him better than everyone, besides the fact the two of them got in fights whenever they were together.

Their other partner was Naruto Uzumaki, the knucklehead of the team, and the one who had all the connections to even the lowest parts of the ghetto of Japan. Having both been born in it, they had somehow met Sakura when they had all applied for the job in SVU the year before. Ironically, they had all gone to the same high school, just never actually met, but they had been made known since Sakura had been a football cheerleader and Naruto and Sasuke had been the football players.

Suddenly, the door banged open and the people in the office looked around in curiosity to it, halting in their work. Sakura stood there hunched over, breathing as if she had run a marathon, but when they saw the look on her face, they immediately resumed their work. Naruto stopped laughing and fear crossed her face quickly, cowering quickly behind his desk.

"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed. "You son of a bitch, I'm gonna fucking kill you!" Sasuke raised an eyebrow and, without looking at her, flipped the page of his magazine again.

"It's not my fault you forgot day light savings," he said. Sakura snarled and stomped over to her clean desk, slamming her bag on the poor desk. Then, she turned and pointed straight at Sasuke, who had walked over to his desk and sat down in the fifteen seconds Sakura had gone to hers.

"You could have at least **told me** that it was day light savings!" screamed Sakura. Naruto smiled weakly and held up a pointed finger.

"T-That's what I told him, Sakura-chan, but he didn't listen to me! And now you're angry and I don't like you like that because you're really scary and you tend to hurt people-mostly me-and Kakashi wants to see you in his office!" Sakura had been threatening Sasuke, who looked very bored, and holding him by the collar, shaking him a few times to emphasize how miserable she felt. She looked over at him with a confused looked and dropped Sasuke, walking over to Naruto and putting her hands on her hips.

"He does? What for?" she asked.

* * *

"There's been a rape and homicide on the west side of Tokyo. A woman was found raped and dead in a dumpster by a fighting couple," Kakashi Hatake said with his back turned to them. Sakura shifted her weight to her left leg and put her hands behind her back innocently. "Sakura, you need to get updated on the time or I'll put you on desk work until you do."

"B-But, sir-!"

"Get going before the reporters get there." Sakura and Naruto sighed and looked at each other before saluting and turning away to walk out. Sasuke watched them go and looked back at his boss.

"Could it be another serial rapist, Kakashi?" he asked. Kakashi shrugged and waved a hand to dismiss him. Sasuke saluted and walked out to follow his teammates. His boss groaned and put a hand to his forehead in defeat.

"I don't think they'll going to ever get along," Kakashi sighed and took an aspirin.

* * *

"Dude, that's gruesome," Naruto said as they took pictures of the body. They had taken the body out of the dumpster and were now investigating the area around the body to search for any evidence. "He practically shredded her."

"Victim is a twenty-two female that goes to the local university," Sasuke said. "One of the people that found her knew her, but weren't close enough to hang around each other. Said her name was Kimiko Kiamichi."

"Her purse is missing, if she even had one with her," Sakura concluded. "Poor girl, didn't even get to graduate college." She stood up from taking a picture of the slit in her neck, wincing slightly at how messy it was. The woman was missing several of her fingers and her chest was carved in various crude designs, as if the killer wanted to mark her as his own.

"Whoever did it knew how to do it," their coroner, Hinata Hyuuga, said smartly. Pointing to the slice on the woman's neck, she said, "See this? He placed the tip of the knife first and played with her before actually doing it. He sliced through the jugular and other major arteries to an almost perfect incision. He probably had her tied up when he did it, seeing as how there are rope marks on her wrists and ankles." She pointed those out, too and Sakura snapped pictures of those, taking in the effects of the bruised skin. Hinata Hyuuga was normally a shy girl, stuttering in her sentences; but when it came to her job, she took it very seriously. She moved her long, lavender hair from her face and stood up to place her hands on her hips. "I should be able to get more info when we get back."

"Do we know where she was killed yet?" Sasuke asked. Sakura shook her head and looked up at him.

"Her apartment, maybe?" Sasuke nodded and motioned for Naruto to come over.

"Go back to the station and get Kiba. Take him and find out if she has any family." He looked down at the dead woman in pity. "They'll want to know their daughter is gone." Sakura stared at the woman's body carefully, checking to see if they missed anything before turning to her partners.

"We need to check the garbage cans to see if he left the murder weapon," she stated. Naruto scoffed and turned to the nearest garbage can. Lifting the lid, his voice echoed off the empty sides as he said, "Our job just gets better and better, no?" Sakura rolled her eyes and walked over to a garbage can and lifted the lid carefully, wrinkling her nose at the stench. Sasuke looked around the dumpster where the woman had been found to see if any of her missing appendages ended up being thrown in with her. Suddenly, Sakura squealed in horror and her partners whipped around to see her eyes wide in surprise and fear as she stared down into a garbage can. They ran over to her and looked down into the can, but they pulled back in disgust as they looked down at the dead body of a large cat.

"That's just sick, man," Naruto gagged.

"I don't think that cat was there before the killer dumped the body," Sasuke said with his nose covered. Sakura nodded and looked over her shoulder. All of a sudden, a shadow passed through the dark recesses of the alley and she squinted her eyes at it. When nothing happened, she shrugged and turned back around.

"Hinata!" she called. "We have another body over here, but we think it was put here when the girl was killed." Hinata got up from her spot next to the body and walked over to the can the dead cat was in. Leaning over, she pulled the cat out of the garbage and laid it out on the ground, inspecting it closely.

"This might be just another object that got in his way while he had his time with her. Might be hers, too. I'll take it to the lab and see what I can find." The blond girl gingerly placed the cat in a small body bag while the other investigators packed up the dead girl, being careful not to ruin any other evidence. Sakura narrowed her eyes and stared down the dark alley, unsure if the shadow she saw had been an animal or something entirely different.

* * *

Sasuke and Sakura walked up the steps in the apartment building they were in, which had apparently seen better days. Sakura covered the lower part of her face when a foul odor reached her nose from a dark corner; several mouse traps sat on the floor, each containing more than one rat or mouse. She looked up at her partner and saw no expression on his face, the only movement a twitch of his jaw muscle. _'Even the stench is getting to him. It's only a wonder why this place hasn't been closed down.'_ They came upon a door that had a crack in it that seemed to be tearing the thing apart.

"Sasuke, this is it," Sakura whispered. Sasuke grunted in reply and reached up to knock on the door, but the door opened and a girl stood there. She was a little taller than Sakura and had dark, curly brown hair that reached her back. She couldn't have been more than twenty, it looked like she was a foreigner, possibly from America, and she had the look of a prostitute all over her, right down to her painted toenails.

"May I help you, cutie?" the girl asked. Sakura frowned at the way she had talked to Sasuke and stepped forward.

"Yes, you can," said Sakura. "Are you Kimiko Kiamichi's roommate?" The girl gave her such a horrible look that made the detective want to kick her ass into the next century, but she refrained herself and smoothed her hair back with a shaking hand. "Are you going to answer me?"

"Yes, I am." Her tone was chilling, but this didn't affect the two detectives; they dealt with worse tones than this.

"You wanna invite us in?" Sakura asked. The girl moved to the side and opened the door wider, allowing them to pass. Unknown to Sasuke, Sakura saw the hoe look at his ass and lick her lips as if wanting to lick him all over. _'Sick bitch,'_ Sakura thought.

"So, what has she done this time?" the girl asked. "Do I need to come and bail her _yet again_?" Sasuke and Sakura exchanged glances before Sasuke said, "Kimiko was murdered either last night or the night before." Kimiko's roommate looked shocked and she brought a hand to her mouth in horror. "Oh my God…I told her to not go out last night, and when she didn't come back I assumed she had been arrested again."

"What do you mean again?" Sakura asked. "You also mentioned something along the lines of having to bail her again if she had been arrested. Did that happen a lot before?"

She nodded. "Yes. From shoplifting to drug possession, she was always in jail for something. I was the first person she called to come bail her out and I had to do it or she would blame something on me. Now look where we live: in this hell hole 'cause of her irresponsible way of living."

"You're not the exact role model yourself," Sakura muttered under breath, but that breath was lost when Sasuke nudged her harshly when the roommate wasn't looking.

"Did Kimiko have a boyfriend by any chance?" Sasuke asked. The girl shook her head from side to side, her dark curly hair moving against her cheeks.

"Not that I know of. But who am I to know? She never told me anything about her personal life, let alone her love life." She scoffed and looked out at the cloudy sky. "Who knew something like this would happen?" Sasuke was so engulfed in her story in case he missed something that it surprised Sakura when he jumped a foot in the air as his phone vibrated in his back pocket. He took it out carefully and stood up to answer it, leaving the two girls to themselves.

"Were you and Kimiko close?" This was a stupid question seeing as how the victim's roommate completely loathed her, but it was worth the shot.

"No, not really. Say, is your friend single?" Sakura's eye twitched.

"Yes, but he's not looking for a relationship right now." No way was she letting this slut get to Sasuke. Disappointment crossed the other girl's face quickly.

"That sucks…Have you ever tried?"

"Tried what?"

"You know: to hook up with him! He's not a man you could find easily, ya know!" Sakura blushed and shook her head. No, she didn't like Sasuke like that and she knew for a fact that he didn't like her. There was no possible way he would EVER like her that way, even if they were the last two people on the entire Earth and it was their job to repopulate the world. Just the thought of it sounded utterly ridiculous!

"Sakura." Sasuke's voice interrupted her thoughts and she whirled around to face him. The look on his face was grave and dark. "Hinata found something she wants us to see."

* * *

**SVU Coronary Lab 10:00 AM**

"Kimiko was carved up more than I thought she was," the lavender haired woman started. The body of the girl was laid out on the metal slab, the bruises on her body more prominent than they had been in the alley. "The main cause of death was the cut to the neck, and she's missing her liver and ovaries. At first glance, it looks like he tortured her first before killing her. But, when I cleaned up most of the blood, this appeared." She removed the white sheet covering the girl's body to reveal a clear image carved into her skin. Sakura leaned forward to examine it closely, but Sasuke held out a hand to stop her.

"What?" she asked. Her expression turned from surprise to curiosity at his wide eyes. It looked like he had seen a ghost that had truly scared him into the next century or two. "Sasuke?"

Have you told Kakashi yet?" Sasuke suddenly asked. Hinata's face turned bitter and shook her head slowly.

"No. I was hoping you could." Sakura stared from one to the other, and then back at the unfortunate girl on the slab. The message carved into the girl's sternum was all too clear:

_**I'M BACK**_

* * *

_**This is mah newest story! The original title was called Law and Order SVU: Naruto Style! but it was too long for the little boxy thing where you insert the title. For more details on this piece of work, please go to mah homepage and look at that shiz on that! Please comment/review!**_

_**Ever so loving and truly yours,  
XxKonoha-DemonxX**_


	2. Chapter 2

****

Chapter 2

"What does this mean, Kakashi?" Sakura shouted once they were in his office. Kakashi looked down at the picture they had taken of the message carved into the girl's body. His face turned pale and he took the picture away from them, looking at it more closely. The two partners gave each other a look when their boss muttered, "Shit…"

"What Kakashi?" Sasuke asked. The man paced around his desk to a filing cabinet that stood next to the door, overfilled with long past cases, whether they be solved or not.

"Go get Naruto and Kiba," Kakashi said urgently.

"They went to check out Kimiko's job." Sakura heard the distress in Sasuke's voice and looked up at him. He looked back down at her and shook his head as if to say don't say anything. She nodded and clasped her hands behind her back innocently, missing the look Sasuke had meant to give her; it had been one of worry, like he knew something was wrong.

"Well call them in. This is very important that all the rookies need to know about."

"Why can't you just tell us?" Sakura suggested. "I mean, we can give them the story when they get back and-"

"No! Everyone must be here!" Sakura flinched at her boss's tone. She looked up at him in fear and her eyes were wide; Kakashi never used this tone with her or any of the detectives unless something was really up. Sasuke sighed and put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down because she had started shaking to suppress the sobs and tears she never wished to shed. Kakashi turned his back on them and stare out the window, his face shadowed. "Everyone must be here to know about this…"

"Why are we here, Kakashi?" growled Kiba. Kiba Inuzuka was a dog-lover, plain and simple, but he had joined the force just months after his graduation from college, claiming the job was calling out to him instead the job of a vet. He had been in SVU for two years, one more than Sakura and her teammates and had seen more than them, but unlike Sasuke, he wasn't as affected by intimidation.

"Yeah! We think we have a lead on the bastard!" Naruto exclaimed. Sakura sat in a chair across from Kakashi's desk, Sasuke standing behind her with his hands by her shoulders as if he was going to jump up and tackle her if she jumped their boss. She had been grateful he had stayed there to try and comfort her, but now she was getting a little uncomfortable with how close he was. Crossing her legs, she smoothed out her dress and ran a hand through her hair in exasperation. Suddenly, she felt the pressure on the chair increase as Sasuke bent down to whisper in her ear.

"Do you ever relax?" asked Sasuke hotly in her ear. Sakura blushed and turned away from him, one hand on the arm of her chair while the other was barely touching her partners. She wrinkled her nose and turned her head away with a huff.

"Of course I do. I should be asking **you** that question," Sakura whispered back. Before Sasuke could retort, Kakashi turned to the small group to speak to them.

"We'll talk about this later," Sasuke whispered and straightened up just as Kakashi began speaking.

"This isn't the first case like this to cross SVU's jurisdiction," he began. "Several years ago, a serial killer that went by the name Jack the Ripper came to Japan-"

"But I thought Jack the Ripper was in London," Naruto stated.

"He was, but a copy-cat decided to finish his work here, in Japan. All women in the west side were targeted, not just prostitutes like the original Jack did, but most of his victims had been so badly mutilated that we couldn't find any evidence. The last one before he disappeared was found dumped on the very stairs of this building, her torso stabbed and cut clean open, her throat cut two times to ensure a quick death and her heart and uterus taken out. They were later _returned_ to us in a cardboard box soaked in blood. Some of our workers never came back after that case that went on for more than a year." Kakashi stared down at the picture of the victim on his desk, her body not as badly mutilated as they had been years ago. "But now that he's back, I don't want ANY of you to go out alone."

"But, we can take care of ourselves!" Sakura exclaimed shooting up from her spot. Her partners stared at her as she stood shaking from what they thought was anger, but it was the opposite of that. The story had shaken her, making her relive that horrible night, but she couldn't let it bother her.

"Sakura, you are to have an escort with you at night at all times," Kakashi stated. "Naruto, Sasuke, you two will do it." The two men nodded and looked at their female partner. She was staring at them in fear, biting her lip so she wouldn't make any unnecessary comments towards them or her boss that could leave her doing desk work. It was a miracle that Kakashi was even letting her come to work in the first place and she was glad for that. "Now, get back to investigating. Sakura, like I said, you are NOT to go anywhere alone, and that means ANYWHERE!"

"Even the bathroom, _Captain_?" Sakura snapped. She was beyond furious now; she had to have an escort now everywhere she went and she wouldn't have ANY privacy to herself. Could that get any worse?

"Sakura, I'm doing this for your safety," Kakashi said wearily. "I don't want to lose a valuable member of this force."

"Then let me fend for myself. All they're going to be is a distraction to me!" She knew they looked offended by her outburst, but she didn't care; five hours of sleep did that to her.

"So," Sasuke started behind her, "we're a distraction to you now?" Sakura heard the unmistakable hurt in his voice and she regretted saying that, but now the damage was done. The men watched as Sakura turned on her heel and marched from the room, slamming the door behind her hard enough to make the frame rattle. The tension let up a little in the room, but just a little.

"Naruto, follow her. You're on first watch. The rest of you get out and go do your job." They all saluted and filed out, leaving Sasuke with his boss again for the second time that day.

"Is it that serious?" Kakashi could hear the worry in his voice and he nodded slowly, putting a hand to his forehead.

"Yes, it is. Don't let her out of your sight, got it?" Sasuke nodded once and followed his fellow teammates to finish investigating. He saw Naruto sitting in front of Sakura at her desk, pleading with her about something, but Sakura shook her head from side to side and that was when Sasuke saw it: Sakura Haruno was crying. She was a tough girl in any normal situation, but when it was her life at stake, she needed time to process it until she made a decision. Getting closer, he could almost make out their conversation, hearing words like "-No, I can't-" and "-Everything is going to be fine-", when Kiba tapped his shoulder.

"Sasuke, we need to get going. Naruto and I think we have a lead on this guy, if it really is a new Jack the Ripper." Sasuke looked back at Sakura and saw her staring at them, her eyes trained on him to see if _**her **_partner was really going to abandon her. He gave her a reassuring smirk before turning to Kiba.

"Okay, let's go." Sakura watched her partner leave with a small smile, her heart inside breaking in two, as if the killer already had it in his hands.

* * *

Sasuke's phone rang from his bedside table and he groaned, opening his eyes to see the vibrating cell phone skittering across the table top. It had been a week since the first victim appeared, but nothing was happening, leaving the SVU detective on their toes, but in doing so kept them deprived from sleep. It was affecting all of them, including their boss, who was found sleeping at his desk, leaning back with a book over his face. Sakura had woken him up, shouting at him that if they could have any sleep, than neither could he.

Naruto's face showed on the screen, one he had taken himself and set at his picture ID without Sasuke knowing it. Sasuke was kind of glad he had been woken because he had been having a horrible nightmare, one filled with blood and screams of the dying, and Sakura…

Sasuke shot up and picked up his phone, remembering Naruto was suppose to be watching her until morning, where it would be his turn to watch her. "Detective Uchiha," he croaked.

"Sasuke, get down here to the precinct! Now!" Naruto's terrified voice reached him and he began to panic.

"Why? What happened?"

"The missing body parts from the victim were delivered!" Sasuke was out of his bed the moment Naruto had said body parts and was putting his clothes on. Thoughts were running through his head as Naruto told what had happened, how Sakura had discovered the package next to the door, and how she had freaked out when she opened it to find the missing fingers, the organs, and all the blood that had spilled from the body parts.

"All right, I'll be there soon," and Sasuke hung up and dashed out the door, grabbing his car keys on the way out.

The office was noisy when Sasuke got there, having to avoid people as they ran around with evidence. He made his way through the clutter to Kakashi's office to find Naruto and Sakura already there, Kiba nowhere to be found, and Kakashi with his head in his hands. Naruto looked over his shoulder to see Sasuke there and they exchanged hand shakes before Sasuke walked around him to kneel in front of Sakura. Her eyes were wide and she was gripping the chair she was in until her knuckles were white. She was shaking slightly from the shock of seeing organs she hoped she would never have to see in her lifetime still bleeding, still _fresh_.

"Sakura," Sasuke said softly. "Sakura, look at me." Sakura jerked her head in his direction, her eyes shining from unshed tears. Her face was pale, extremely too pale for his taste and he reached up to brush her cheek with the back of his hand. "Are you okay?" Sakura nodded her head shakily, but Sasuke wasn't convinced. "No, you're not. Do you want to go home?" She shook her head this time and Sasuke sighed. "Okay. Suit yourself."

"Sasuke, thank you for joining us," Kakashi sighed. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. He didn't see him come in?

"Uh, I've been here, Kakashi," he stated. Kakashi looked up to stare at him, the dark circles under his eyes visible.

"Oh, sorry." He stood up and walked over to lean in front of his desk. "So, I assume Naruto told you what happened?"

"Yes, but this was to be expected," Sasuke said. "In the old cases, body parts were normally sent to the police in both cases with the original Jack and the copy-cat from years back."

"Yeah, but letters were sent, too. Don't forget that," Naruto said.

"Speaking of which: Did a letter come in?" Kakashi shook his head and looked down at the container the organs and appendages had come in. Blood soaked the entire bottom half of the box and the smell was too strong, so strong that everyone in the room could smell it. Naruto cleared his throat and everyone visibly jumped, having been too absorbed in their thoughts.

"We need to catch this bastard before he strikes again," the blond stated.

"But if it's the same as before, then we're definitely not going to catch this guy," Sasuke argued. Naruto's chest swelled in anger and the two teammates stood in front of each other, glaring at one another, waiting for one to back down or say something. Kakashi sighed and shook his head. _'This case is getting to them faster than the last time this kind of thing came up with the old squad. If this gets out of hand, I don't know what I'm gonna do if they get kicked off the case.'_

"What if…" Everyone turned to look at Sakura, confused looks on their faces because Sakura had a smile on her face, one they all knew too well; she had a plan. "What if we do this…"

* * *

**Hundred and fifth street**

**Tokyo 9:45 PM**

Sasuke snarled as some disgusting, perverted older man looked at Sakura in a shameful way. He watched as his partner extended her leg outward, the short dress she was wearing sliding up her thigh even more than it already was. He didn't like this plan at all: Sakura was to dress like prostitute and hang around a street where they thought the killer would strike again. At first, he immediately disagreed to this, but the moment her face fell, he had retraced his thoughts and looked away from her pleading eyes, the ones he could never ignore. Kakashi and Naruto were also of course against it, but Kakashi had said he didn't want a repeat of what had happened more than ten years ago when the killings had first started.

"Sasuke, shut up or they'll hear us!" Naruto whispered. They sat behind a dumpster across the street from where Sakura stood, not wanting to be too far away if something happened. He had seen the way that perverted man had looked at his partner, but if he couldn't stop Sasuke from charging the man, their cover could be blown. And if their killer was around, then they would lose him, too.

"I know, but I can't stand the way she just blurted that out of nowhere!" Sasuke sighed. He leaned his head on the brick wall behind him and looked up at the dark sky. "Have you noticed the sun hasn't shone since we found that girl a week ago?"

"I know, right? I'm getting tired of this dismal weather!" Sasuke sighed again and looked around the corner to look for Sakura. Suddenly, his eyes shot wide and he jumped up quickly. "What?"

"S-She's not there!"

"What?" Naruto looked over and his heart started thumping really fast. He looked around the corner to where Sakura was suppose to be standing but she really wasn't there and he started to freak out. "Where the hell is she?" Sasuke was up before Naruto and he rushed around the corner hurriedly-and bumped into Sakura as she was about to turn into their alley. They both fell back on the ground, Sakura groaning in pain since her skin felt like it was on fire from skidding across the sidewalk.

"Sakura!" Suddenly, she was swooped up into someone's strong arms that were squeezing her too tightly. "Are you okay? We were so worried!"

"Let me go, Naruto! You're suffocating me!" Sakura exclaimed. Sasuke shook his head to clear his mind and looked at the pair. Sakura's cheek was pressed into Naruto's chest, her face looking like it was being squished and Sasuke couldn't help but smirk. She saw his smirk and smiled at him sweetly, silently thanking him for worrying about her.

"Sakura, you should wear that kind of clothes more often. It suits you," Sasuke teased and watched as Sakura's face turned red from anger and embarrassment.

"S-Shut up, you man whore!" Twitch.

"What did you just call me?" Evil smirk.

"Ma~n whore!"

"Take that back, Sakura."

"Never!" Naruto sighed and watched as they bickered over a stupid subject. Then, things changed when Sasuke finally got mad and pointed to the spot she had been in not more than fifteen minutes before.

"Why did you leave your post? Do you have any idea how worried we were? We thought you got kidnapped or actually accepted an offer!" he shouted.

"I would never do such a thing!" Sakura yelled back. "Are you calling me a whore?"

"You called me a man whore!" All of a sudden, something clanged in the alley they had just been in and they all froze, eyes wide as they listened. Nothing else happened after that, but it had made Sasuke curious and he intended on finding out what it was. He started walking back into the alley, Sakura and Naruto right behind him, stepping cautiously.

Then, the noise came again, this time louder and closer and Sakura couldn't help but squeak in surprise, causing Sasuke to slap a hand to her mouth sharply. She winced and tears came to her eyes in pain as she watched Sasuke look around sharply, but then something above caught her eye. Looking up, her eyes widened when she saw someone looking down at them, a bloody knife in their hand. She tugged at Sasuke's hand as it was still clamped on her mouth, her eyes very wide as the person sneered down at them, raising their arm to throw the knife at them.

Sakura threw Sasuke's hand from her mouth just as the person hurled the knife at them. "Look out! _Sasuke!_" Naruto saw Sakura push their partner harshly, but just as he was about to cry out to them, he saw a sharp object bury itself to the hilt in Sakura's side. Sakura cried out in pain, blood running freely from the wound as she fell to the ground clutching at her waist where the knife was. Sasuke crawled over to her quickly and, in a blind rush, pulled the knife from the girl's side, brandishing it to face their attacker. However, he was nowhere to be found. His partner's anguished cries reached his ears and Naruto yelled into his cell phone, "Get a bus to hundred and fifth street on the west side of Tokyo!"

* * *

**Tokyo Memorial Hospital 12:00 AM**

Sasuke ran a hand through his messy hair for the hundredth time that night, hunched over in a chair in the waiting room of Tokyo Memorial Hospital. After Sakura had been stabbed, Naruto had immediately called for an ambulance just as Sasuke had rounded on their suspect who was nowhere around. It had been stupid to take out the knife from Sakura's leg because as soon as he did it, blood gushed from her wound. Not the smartest thing he has done in his life time, and he regretted it fully; especially when Kakashi found out.

"_You are so stupid, Uchiha! You know better than to pull a knife out of someone's body! Just look at the Crocodile Hunter, for God's sake!"_

Kakashi's words were still fresh in Sasuke's mind and they wouldn't leave. Would it be _his_ fault if Sakura died from too much blood loss? Sasuke groaned and gripped his hair harshly before running a hand through it; the stress was giving him a killer migraine. And who was that guy that was standing on the roof? He had been the one to throw the knife at them, but did that mean he was targeting them? Something clicked in Sasuke's mind and he straightened up, his eyes wide. _'Had __**he**__ been the killer who was representing himself as Jack the Ripper?'_

Suddenly, the swinging door to the operating room opened and Sasuke looked over, standing up quickly. A doctor wearing bloody gloves came out and walked towards him with a smile on her lips.

"Don't worry, Detective. Miss Haruno will be fine, but I urge you to keep her from working for at least a couple weeks. She's going to have a nasty scar and bruise to go with that stab wound in the morning." Sasuke nodded as the doctor gave the report to him in detail, about how Sakura would need medical attention to clean her wound every day until she could do it herself, and Sasuke couldn't help but think he would be the one doing it.

"Can I see her?" asked Sasuke just as the doctor was about to leave. She smiled and nodded, letting him pass to get to Sakura's room. Sasuke opened the door quietly and peeked his head around the door, expecting to see Sakura asleep, but instead saw her watching a boxing match on the television.

"Go for the kidneys!" Sakura shouted. Sasuke sweat dropped at her childish behavior and how fast she had recovered from a fatal stab wound. "Now go for the right hook! YEAH!"

"Sakura?" The girl turned to the sound of her name, smiling brightly at Sasuke as he stepped forward.

"Hey, Sasuke! When did you get here?" the girl exclaimed. Sasuke chuckled lightly and walked over to the chair beside her bed.

"I've been here since they brought you in, stupid," he said. Sakura pouted and crossed her arms over her chest, looking in his eyes.

"You know, you should be grateful that I saved your life, Sasuke. If I hadn't pushed you out of the way, YOU would be the one sitting here, or even possibly dead! Then who would take care of my fish and cat when I go on vacation?"

"Naruto could, you know."

"No! Remember the last time he took care of my pets? Half my fish were dead and my cat had been living off ramen for four days!"

"Well, why didn't you ask me to do it?"

"Because you flatly refused when I asked you, remember?" Sasuke rubbed the back of his head guiltily and smirked at her. It was true; Sakura had gone to Florida for her break Kakashi had given her and she had asked Sasuke to take care of her pets, but he had refused to and then she asked Naruto. When she had come back four days later, she had found three dead fish and a fat cat. She had beat Naruto within an inch of his life and made him go out and buy three new fish and diet cat food.

"Okay, that was a mistake on my part. Sorry," Sasuke apologized. Sakura sighed and closed her eyes, and then looked back at him with a smile on her lips.

"It's okay. I now have fifteen baby fish looking for new homes. Do you want one or two?" Sasuke smirked and shrugged.

"Sure. I was thinking of getting some fish anyway." Sakura grinned widely, reminding him of Naruto in a way that made him smile. Sakura blushed a little at his smile and looked back at the TV to watch the boxing match that was still going on.

"So, when am I getting out of here? We have to get back out there to find that bastard before he strikes again!" A look crossed Sasuke's face as he looked at her and it worried her when he didn't answer her. "What?"

"Sakura, you can't come back to work," Sasuke said slowly. "Kakashi says that you need to stay away from the case after what happened tonight."

"But I don't want to stay off! I want to get this guy before he kills another prostitute!"

"Sakura, with that wound you aren't going to be able to move around very well."

"So? I can still do desk work and look through the evidence! Please, Sasuke? Try to convince Kakashi to say otherwise."

"Even I'M against the fact that you should help with this case. It would be hypocritical if I just suddenly changed my mind on the matter!" They had a stare down for at least five minutes before Sasuke looked away and sighed, leaving Sakura to smirk in triumph. "Fine, I'll talk to him."

"YES!" Sakura exclaimed.

* * *

**_Sasuke: I still think we should have rough, hot sex sometime in this story -Smirk-.  
Sakura: -Turns to me with pleading look- Not again, KD! I need a break!  
KD: Lol Don't worry, chicky! -Turns to gaping Sasuke- NO MORE SEX FOR YOU! _**

**_Anywho! Please review! I noticed my other long chaptered story, Why I'm Here, didn't get a whole lot of reviews -Sad face- _**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Three bodies turned up three weeks in a row after Sakura had gotten out of the hospital. Each one had their throats cut and at least two organs removed, each organ still fresh as if they had been perfectly preserved with blood still coating them. All of the detectives that were on the case were worn out from lack of sleep and it was practically turning everyone against each other. Sasuke and Naruto had gotten into a massive fight when the third body had come up, the stress finally snapping them into insanity. Sakura had been forced to break them up, resulting in a bruised rib and broken nose, but the two men had practically busted each other up.

And then came the letter with the third body. It had been mailed to the precinct just two days after they had discovered the body, written in blood that was proved positive to be the victims. Sakura had been the one to find it and Kakashi had given her permission to read it before Sasuke or Naruto killed each other to look at it. It said:

**_Dear Detectives of SVU,_**

**_I see you found Sleeping Beauty in the warehouse. Good for you,  
_****_but unfortunately, you are not an inch closer of finding me. I took the  
_****_stomach and uterus of this one, but slicing the beauty up was the best  
_****_part. Hearing her screams excited me to no limit and there was no one  
_****_to hear her delightful shrills of terror. I must admit, I am very sorry for  
_****_hurting that succulent detective, Sakura Haruno. I was originally going  
_****_for Sasuke Uchiha, for he has angered me greatly for making me resort  
_****_to such barbaric methods of extermination. And this is for the lovely  
_****_Miss Haruno, for she is the light of this great festival: Watch for the one  
_****_with the curves as fine as yours, for she will have lost all her toes and  
_****_possibly even her most private area. Or do you prefer those luscious  
_****_mounds that every woman takes pride in?_**

**_Yours ever so truly_**

**_-Jacky_**

This letter had sent Sasuke overboard with anger and he had started cussing, saying how he was going to kill the guy for speaking with such a vulgar tongue about Sakura and the other women. Kakashi had ordered Sakura and Naruto to pull him into the locker room where Sasuke immediately started beating his fists into the lockers and walls. Naruto had left in a hurry, saying he had already had a beating from Sasuke and didn't want another. That was where Sakura was now, sitting on the bench in the middle of the room as Sasuke vented his anger on the lockers. She watched him as his knuckles left bloody prints on the pale metal, a sad frown on her lips.

Finally, Sasuke began to calm down until he was leaning against the dented lockers, cradling his busted knuckles which began bleeding all over his clothes. Sakura got up and walked over to him, sliding down next to him with a quiet thump. Her dress rode up to the top of her thighs but she didn't care because no one was there to see them, and she was happy to be away from the noisy office. Sasuke breathed heavily and he leaned his head between his legs as he tried to breathe.

"Sasuke, are you okay now?" Sakura whispered. Sasuke nodded his head and lifted his head to look at her, meeting her glistening green eyes. He sighed and looked at his hands as blood ran down them.

"Um, can you…" He held out his hands to her and Sakura smiled softly at him.

"Sure." Sakura got up slowly and smoothed down the back of her dress as she stood. Sasuke watched her as she moved out of room where the first aid box was and get out supplies to fix his knuckles. Slowly, Sasuke got up and sat on the bench, lying down with his hands on his stomach. He could feel the exhaustion pulling him under and he closed his eyes, falling asleep quickly. Sakura came in with the box in her hand and a smile on her lips, but she stopped when she saw Sasuke asleep on the bench, his bruised and bleeding hands on his stomach. She smiled and shook her head in disbelief and walked over to kneel next to him so she could fix his hands.

As she wrapped the gauze around his knuckles, Sakura continued to look at him every few moments to see if he would wake up. When he didn't, she just smiled and placed his wrapped hands back on his stomach and leaned her cheek on her hand. She knew he shouldn't be sleeping there, but she didn't want to wake him because he just looked too peaceful to be disturbed. But, she also knew if Kakashi found out, their boss would kick them off the case for sleeping on the job.

"Sasuke, you need to wake up," Sakura whispered as she shook him. Sasuke grunted and opened his eyes slowly to stare at her, his eyes dim from sleepiness. Sakura smiled at him and wiggled her fingers at him. "Good morning, sleepy head!"

"Huh, yeah. Good morning," Sasuke whispered. Sakura rolled her eyes and looked down at him softly.

"You really need to get some anger management classes, Sasuke. They might actually help."

"I don't need classes, Sakura." The woman looked pointedly over to the dented lockers and back to him, an eyebrow raised. "How else am I suppose to vent my anger?" he finally asked under her scrutinizing gaze.

"How about counting to ten and breathing slowly?" Sakura groaned and sat next to him as he sat up. "Sasuke, if you keep getting angry all the time, then you might get kicked off the case. And we need skilled detectives for this; even Kakashi knows this."

"I can handle this, I swear. It's just all of us are so exhausted on this case that…I just keep losing control because of it. I don't need those stupid classes that don't even work." Sasuke looked at her and cocked his head to the side. "You know?"

Sakura sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I know." She looked away at the door to avoid looking at his dark eyes. "Sasuke, how's your brother?" Sasuke started at the mention of his brother and looked up at the ceiling.

"He's doing better, I guess. The doctors refuse to tell me anything nowadays." Sasuke's brother, Itachi, was put in the hospital after a gang fight that happened several weeks before. He had been shot for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but he had been shot in the left shoulder so he had to have surgery to have it fixed. But while they had been examining him, they found a cancerous tumor in his lungs and he had to go through chemotherapy to get it removed. Sasuke would normally visit him every day, but with the case being so time-consuming, it was hard to get in touch with him.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Sakura reassured. "How about this: we can go visit him the next chance we get! We can go now if you want. Give the excuse that you're going to go get classes!"

"Sakura, there is no way in hell that would ever work." Sakura pouted and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well, sorry! I was just trying to help." Sasuke chuckled and ruffled her hair playfully.

"Thanks anyway, Sakura…" He trailed off and his expression became sad as he thought of his brother and how he felt like he was neglecting him.

"Well, I think we should get back out there," Sakura breathed. "They're probably worrying about us." She was about to get up when Sasuke reached out and grabbed her shirt, making her stop.

"Can…" Sasuke started and he sighed, "Can we just stay here…just for another minute or two? So I can compose myself a little?" Sakura smiled and nodded, settling down on the bench again. She looked to the painted-white wall, watching it to see if it would speak since the room was so quiet. Then, a thought came to her.

"Hey, Sasuke?" The man looked at her, an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah?"

"Tomorrow's our anniversary as a team, ya know!" Sasuke's eyes widened slightly as he remembered that the next day was definitely marked as their first year together.

"It is, isn't it?" he murmured. Sakura nodded and giggled lightly.

"Yeah! What should we do?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I don't know. We can't really do anything since we have this case." He watched as Sakura's face fell and she looked down at her hands in her lap.

"Damn, that's not fair," she pouted. Her partner chuckled softly, mostly to himself as he watched Sakura pout. "How come police officers have to get all the hard jobs?"

"But isn't it a good thing that we can do stuff during the day instead of staying home and do nothing? We can be like those people who have nothing to do all day besides watch TV and get fat." Sakura laughed and looked at him, almost like she was searching him for something. Then,

"I don't get you, Sasuke," Sakura huffed. "You're the guy that has all these girls after you and you could have chosen any job besides this one. Why?" Sasuke stared at her in surprise, his eyes wide with the emotion. Sakura blushed a light pink and laughed nervously. "I-I'm sor-!"

"I guess…" Sakura stopped and watched as Sasuke looked the other way, looking very embarrassed. "I guess I just haven't found the right one yet."

"Oh…" Sakura looked away from him and to the floor in embarrassment.

"Sakura?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes?"

"I want you to promise me something."

"Go ahead."

"When we're on this case, don't do anything stupid, okay? This thing has got me on edge as it is." Sakura looked at him and smiled gratefully, slowly reaching over and placing her hand on his carefully. She nodded happily and, before Sasuke could react, threw her arms around him to hug him tightly.

"Thank you so much, Sasuke" Sakura said. "Besides Naruto and Kakashi, and maybe even Kiba, I think you are the only person who really cares about me in this precinct."

"Sakura, everyone here cares about you. Don't go around thinking that nobody here does. We're a family, so we'll stay a family." Sakura nodded and sniffed. "And no waterworks either please. This is a brand new shirt."

"Haha, very funny." The door suddenly opened and the two pulled apart to see Naruto standing there with his arms crossed, a grin on his face.

"I see you two are at good terms with each other," Naruto teased. Sakura blushed a dark red while Sasuke stood up and walked over to his friend. When he raised a hand, the blonde ducked when Sasuke swatted at him with his fist. Sakura laughed and stood up, brushing off the bottom of her dress as she walked to the two men. Giving them both a good hard slap to the arm, Sakura opened the door all the while receiving two grins from her partners. She walked back into the precinct with Sasuke and Naruto following her, the two bickering about his bruised hands.

"Sakura." The young woman turned to the sound of her name and found her boss gesturing for her to go over to him. Sakura gave one last look to her partners, who were still quarreling over the fact Sasuke couldn't go kickboxing with Naruto anymore until his knuckles were healed. She sighed and walked over to Kakashi slowly, her eyes downcast sadly. "Sakura, you probably know why I'm talking to you right now," Kakashi said as soon as they were in his office.

"Captain, I can still be a part of this case, I swear!" Sakura exclaimed. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her before shaking his head.

"That's not what I'm talking about." It was Sakura's turn to raise an eyebrow and her boss sat at his desk. "I want Sasuke to stay at your apartment until this case is over." Sakura's jaw dropped at what her boss had just told her.

"Y-You want _Sasuke Uchiha_, Tokyo's _number one bachelor_, to _**sleep**_ in **MY** house?"

"Yes, if that isn't a problem." Sakura groaned and collapsed in a chair across from his desk.

"Why, Kakashi?" Sakura murmured. "Why are you torturing me like this?"

"It's called doing your duty as a partner, Sakura. You aren't the only one who is being targeted. The only reason you got hurt was because the killer was aiming for Sasuke and you jumped in the way."

"I know this!" Sakura stood up and glared up at her boss. "Why are you reminding me?"

"I'm doing this to benefit both you and the whole squad. If Sasuke stays with you, then you both can keep an eye on each other." Sakura refused to look her boss in the eyes and instead looked around his office to provide a distraction. "Sakura, look at me." The young woman reverted her eyes to the spot above Kakashi. "Stop staring at the wall above me and look me in the eye." When Sakura was looking at him, he sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You know what? Just go home. Tell Sasuke the plan and you two can leave for the night."

Sakura looked down with narrowed eyes before saluting and walking from the office, slamming the door behind her. Almost the entire squad room looked up from what they were doing to watch Sakura as she marched over to Sasuke's desk and slapped his head since he had his head on his desk. He snapped awake and gave Sakura a glare, but that disappeared when she saw her expression.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" The young woman narrowed her eyes at the door behind her and said, "Kakashi wants you to come live with me until this case is over. So go home and get some clothes." It was deathly silent as everyone processed what the young detective had just said. Sasuke's eyes were slightly wide as he watched Sakura in surprise.

"Sakura," Kiba said. "What are you talking about?"

"Kakashi wants Sasuke and I to live together until this case is solved. Since the accident, he wants us to keep an eye on each other every minute of every day." Sakura walked over to her desk and started packing up to go home. A hand stopped her and she looked up to see Sasuke standing next to her, his eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Why are you so against this, Sakura?" he asked. "This is for the best of the squad, but why are you refusing to be helped?"

"I am not doing this!" Sakura exclaimed and slung her bag over her shoulder. "I have had enough of rape and being treated like crap on every assignment." She began walking to the door, the entire unit watching her retreating back. Sasuke looked after her sadly and grabbed his own stuff before following after her quickly. He caught up with her just as she was leaving the building and he grabbed her wrist.

"Sakura, hold on a second," he cried. Sakura tried to jerk her hand from his grasp, but his grip was like handcuffs. "Listen to me!" The woman jerked at his tone of voice and stared up at him with wide eyes. Like Kakashi, Sasuke never raised his voice unless it was important, and when he raised his voice at Sakura, it left a huge impact on her. Tears sprang to her eyes and she sniffed, refusing to look at Sasuke, who loosened his grip on her wrist.

"Sakura, I know you don't want to do this, but you have to suck it up and forget your past. You always get like this on a job because you're afraid to get close to someone. You won't even stay in the interrogation room for more than ten minutes and you refuse to stay alone in there, too." He let go of her wrist, but then grabbed her shoulders and lowered his head to watch her expression. "Please, do this for me, Naruto, Kiba, and even Kakashi. We all care about you, even if you get pissed when you're on your period."

Sakura scowled and slapped his arm lightly, earning a chuckle from Sasuke. "Don't talk about that," she murmured and they stared at each other for a few moments. Then, Sakura smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest. "Thank you, Sasuke." Sasuke placed a hand on her head and rubbed her hair like a child.

"You're welcome. Now, I think we should get going. I have to get some clothes for the next few days." Sakura nodded and let him go, allowing him to go first. She smoothed down her hair, smiling at him and she began walking after him until she was at his side. They started talking about how the plan would work and what boundaries there would be, such as equal bathroom time and who would be cooking the meals.

"And when you use the restroom, make sure you lower the toilet seat," Sakura said. "I don't want to go in the morning and fall in."

"Don't worry. I'm good about that kind of stuff." Sakura smiled up at him as they arrived at his apartment, Sasuke sliding the key into the lock and opening the door swiftly. He ushered Sakura inside and bolted the door behind him, giving Sakura a chance to walk around his apartment. His partner stared in awe at the all the high-tech electronics he had in just that three room apartment, smiling at the pictures of the football team from high school. There was a shuffling behind her and Sakura turned to see Sasuke moving from one room to the next, grabbing the essentials for the next few weeks.

"Do you need any help?" Sakura called out.

"No," grunted Sasuke. "But you can help me by making sure that all the windows are locked and everything is shut down. I don't want anything to get stolen while I'm gone." Sakura nodded happily and walked over to the closest window to check the lock in order to make sure it was in place. On the last window, she looked up and noticed a shadow moving around below. She squinted her eyes to make out the shape, a frown on her lips as she watched it move slowly to the building. Sakura was so absorbed in it that she didn't notice Sasuke move up behind her, an eyebrow raised. He placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump violently and twirl to face him, her gun in her hand as she pointed it at him shakily. "What's gotten into you, Sakura?"

"I…You…" Sakura sighed and put the gun back in the holster on her thigh. She shrugged and looked over his shoulder. "You surprised me was all."

"What are you looking at?" Sasuke asked and stepped up beside her. He scrutinized the grounds below closely and turned to Sakura.

"I thought I saw a shadow moving around down there," Sakura whispered. Sasuke smirked before raising a hand and ruffling her hair playfully.

"The exhaustion is getting to you, Sakura. Let's get going." Sakura nodded after a moment and followed her partner out the door, but not before giving the window a worrying glance. "Sakura!"

"I'm coming!"

* * *

**_BUM BUM BUM! Was it REALLY part of Sakura's imagination? READ AND REVIEW DANG IT!_**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Naruto whistled a giddy tune as he walked down the hallway to Sakura's apartment for the third time that week. Kakashi had sent him to check on the two detectives who had left early on their day off to make sure they weren't killing each other. Sasuke and Sakura had been living with each other for the past week, providing for each other in the way Kakashi wanted them to. Even though they hadn't been fond of the idea at first, the two detectives learned to live with it as they worked together on the case. While living together for a week, all the people in the precinct noticed certain similarities between the two: They both woke up at five-thirty every morning; they arrived at work at the same time every day; and they left at the same time despite the fact they were living together.

As Naruto approached Sakura's door, he could hear muffled voices inside that seemed to be bickering at one another. Raising his eyebrows in confusion, he pressed his ear to the door and caught their conversation.

"That doesn't go there!" Sakura moaned.

"Let me do this," Sasuke grunted.

"You're putting that in wrong!" Naruto's eyes widened as he looked back at the door. Were they…? He knocked at the door hurriedly and heard footsteps going to the door. It unlocked and opened to reveal a surprised Sakura with a grumbling Sasuke behind her.

"Uh, um," Naruto stammered. "What are you guys doing?" Sakura looked at Sasuke before saying, "Sasuke and I were installing a new TV I just bought. He keeps putting in the wrong colored wires to the TV."

"O-Oh, I thought you were doing…you know…" Sakura looked at Naruto in confusion before her eyes went really wide.

"Why the hell were you thinking _that_?" Sakura screamed, alerting Sasuke's attention. He watched as Sakura dragged Naruto into the apartment and start berating him about how he was an adult and he shouldn't be thinking such perverted thoughts about his colleagues.

"All I was saying is that it _sounded_ like it!" Naruto cried.

"How old are you, Naruto?" Sakura asked angrily. "Fifteen?"

"Actually, I'm twenty-four if you must-"

"That was a rhetorical question!"

"Naruto, what did you come here for?" Sasuke asked. Naruto turned his attention to his friend and grinned.

"Kakashi wanted me to come check up on you guys. Oh! And he wants you two in early tomorrow so you can go check out the recent murder sight." Sakura groaned and ran a hand through her hair.

"And just when I think we could have some time off," they heard her mutter under her breath. The two men exchanged glances as Sakura walked into the kitchen where they heard the clinking of glasses. "You want anything to drink?"

"Nah," Naruto sighed. "I have to go back to the station. Kakashi said something about 'new people'." The blonde made quotation motions with his fingers and he shrugged. He started walking to the door and he turned to them. "Remember to be in early. Be good you two." Naruto winked suggestively and shut the door behind him as Sakura screamed in frustration, crossing her arms angrily. Sasuke chuckled and nudged his partner's arm playfully.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" Sasuke teased. "Can't handle a perverted guy like Naruto?"

"Sasuke, I've handled over hundreds of perverted men who rape girls and young women. I think I can handle something minor like the perverted mind of _Naruto_." Sasuke smirked down at her before rubbing her hair, mussing it up and making her growl.

"Now, let's get this TV set up. This apartment needs an update in technology anyway."

"Hold on a second. Let me go open a window; it's, like, over a thousand degrees in here." Sasuke nodded with a chuckle, watching Sakura move to a window nearest to her with bored eyes. She looked down for a second, watching a squirrel run up a tree with happy eyes. Then, a shadow detached itself from under the tree and Sakura's eyes widened. She gasped, alerting Sasuke near his spot by the TV he was putting together.

"Sakura?" he questioned. The woman backed away from the window hurriedly, her hand over her mouth in horror. "Sakura, what's wrong!"

"He…He's out there!" Sakura cried quietly. Sasuke's eyes widened as he dropped the cords he was holding and rushed over to her, his gun parallel to the window. He pushed her back quickly and leaned his back against the wall, his gun pulled against his chest as he looked down at the yard below. Sakura bit her lip as she watched Sasuke look down at the tree where she had seen the man that was targeting them both. She heard him sigh and Sasuke looked back at her with a frown on his face.

"Sakura, there's no one out there," he said softly.

"W-What? That's impossible!" Sakura walked briskly to the window and slammed it open harshly to peer outside. "I _saw_ him standing out there with something in his hand!"

"Just calm down, okay? There's no need to get so defensive."

Sakura stared at him in disbelief. "You don't believe me, do you?" When Sasuke didn't answer, Sakura narrowed her eyes in anger and spun on her heel to go to her bedroom, stomping angrily to it.

"Sakura, wait a minute," Sasuke called but Sakura stuck her middle finger up at him without even turning to him. He glared at her back and heard her door slam shut, the lock turning in place. _'Jeez,'_ he thought as he gave one last look out the window. _'This case is going to be the death of all of us if she continues to go crazy on us like this.' _He narrowed his eyes at the shadows before pulling the blinds down to shield the inside.

* * *

"Glad you could join us, Sasuke," Kakashi said greeting his top detective. Sasuke grunted in reply and slumped down at his desk. Naruto and Kiba looked up from their own desks and watched Sasuke pound his head on the desk in frustration. From the top landing, Sakura sniffed and continued looking through a file she had pulled from the previous Jack the Copy Cat case. _'Serves you right.'_ Sakura had turned Sasuke's alarm clock off to make him late in an act of revenge the previous night.

"I thought I reminded you last night to come in early," Naruto said. "It's not like you to be late."

"Thank Sakura for that," Sasuke groaned. Naruto sighed and looked up at the landing where Sakura had her back to them talking to someone next to her.

"Well, there is a reason why I wanted you all to come in early." Kakashi walked to the double doors where he put his hand on the handle. He opened the door and motioned for someone to come in. Sakura walked down the stairs slowly to join her teammates, refusing to look at Sasuke. "I have taken it upon myself to allow two detectives from JPD to join this case due to some-unfortunate-events. Until this case is over, these two will be part of your teams now."

The pair that walked in caught everyone's attention immediately, especially Sakura. "Allow me to introduce ourselves," the woman said. "My name is Tashino Hatake and this is my partner Ryan Dayton." The man tipped his hat to them, his eyes drinking in their details but his gaze stayed longer on Sakura. "Ryan transferred here from America after he graduated from college a couple years ago."

"Well, it's very nice to meet you," Sakura said eagerly. Tashino turned her attention to her, showing Sakura her unnatural red eyes.

"You must be Sakura Haruno," Ryan said quietly. "We've heard a lot about you from Captain Kakashi." Sakura blushed lightly, earning a confused look from her partners.

"Allow me to escort you two to my office," Kakashi suggested. "We'll talk about the rest of the case while my detectives go out to the last crime scene." That was their cue to leave. Naruto and Kiba followed Sasuke and Sakura out of the precinct building with two pairs of eyes following them closely. Tashino and Ryan followed their new boss to his office where Kakashi shut the door behind them.

"We understand how serious this case is," Tashino said sitting down. She brushed her black spiky hair from her face as Ryan leaned against the wall behind her.

"Yes. Four women have been found murdered the same way the original Jack the Ripper and his copy cat did years ago in the past four weeks. It is only a matter of time before the fifth victim turns up." Kakashi sighed wearily as he looked out the window. "I am very grateful JPD has allowed you two to come work for us seeing as how JPD detectives helped us in the same case almost a decade ago."

"We are more than happy to help," Ryan told him.

"Oh, by the way Kakashi. Mom wanted me to tell you that no matter what happens, you have to call her every night." Kakashi blushed in embarrassment and turned her head.

"I swear that woman is going to be the death of me," they heard him murmur. Tashino giggled and turned to Ryan.

"Are you ready to go, Ryan?" Her partner nodded briskly and began to follow her out to where the two teams had gone. Then, Tashino stopped. "Uh, Dad? What's the address?"

"Akishima, baby." Tashino laughed nervously and bowed in thanks. She ran out to catch up with her partner who was already halfway out the building.

* * *

**Akishima, West Tokyo District 10:00 am**

Sakura stepped slowly into the warehouse where the third body had been found, its body sliced up just like the two before it. She motioned for the other four to follow her and the men moved into the expanding room with ease. "Okay," Sakura whispered, "let's get something straight." The four men gathered around her as she spoke. "Just because another group of detectives from another agency is here to help doesn't mean we can rely on them to do this case for us."

"And let's not forget how _**HOT **_that Tashino chick was," Kiba mentioned. Naruto snickered but immediately stopped when he caught the looks Sasuke and Sakura were giving him. Kiba walked off to see if there was any evidence they had forgotten just to give something for him to do.

"Naruto, go check out the spot where the body was found and see if there are any other fibers or hairs that we didn't pick up," Sakura ordered. Naruto nodded and walked off to the dark area where the victim's body had been found, pulling on a pair of latex gloves as he did so. Sasuke followed Sakura to the outside where they inspected the entire outside. When they rounded the corner, Sasuke took his partner by the arm and stopped her.

"What, Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

"Do you think we can trust these JPD people?" Sasuke asked quietly.

"They helped SVU in the last Jack the Copy Cat case," Sakura growled. "And not to mention Tashino is Kakashi's _daughter_."

"So?" Sakura scoffed and pushed Sasuke away to continue looking.

"Sasuke, I don't know what your problem is but you need to learn how to trust people more if you ever want to get closer to someone." Sakura turned away from him to press her hand on the brick wall that was beginning to crumble. Sasuke huffed before following after Sakura, not wanting to bring up the fact that he was pissed at her for turning his alarm clock off. Suddenly, Sakura cried out in surprise as her arm went through a hole in the brick, scaring her greatly.

"Are you okay?" they heard a voice behind them ask. The two turned to see Tashino and Ryan hurrying over to them. Ryan ran over to Sakura and helped her out of the hole as Sakura thanked him shyly. Sasuke scowled and turned his head away and answered, "Yeah. She just fell in a hole." Sakura glared at him as Ryan righted her.

"Yeah, no thanks to you!" she exclaimed. Sasuke raised an eyebrow angrily at her.

"What is _that_ suppose to mean?" growled Sasuke. Sakura stuck her tongue at him and he sizzled with anger. "Quit acting like a child, Sakura!"

"Why should I? You act like one all the time!" The two detectives that had just gotten there watched the two fight it out like a married couple and the very thought made Tashino giggle. Finally, Sakura pushed Sasuke away and stalked off to the entrance of the warehouse. Tashino and Ryan both sighed as they followed Sakura, but Tashino turned to Sasuke who had an angry red mark on his face from when he had tried to grab Sakura's arm and Sakura slapped him.

"Man, Sasuke," Tashino scolded. "You may be Japan's number one bachelor, but you sure do have a way with the ladies."

"Shut up, Hatake," Sasuke hissed and pushed past the girl to go his other teammates. He found Sakura leaning against the wide doorframe with Ryan, Naruto, and Kiba standing there as well.

"We didn't find anything," Kiba said once he saw them.

"What do you mean you didn't find anything?" Sasuke asked. "There was evidence all over the place."

"That's what we're talking about." Naruto gestured to the inside of the warehouse. "There's _nothing_ in there: no blood; no fibers. It's as if someone came in here and cleaned it all up!"

"But everyone in our precinct as well as JPD know better than to clean up evidence until the one week period is up. It's only been five days."

"There's nothing we can do about it now," Ryan murmured. They all turned to him and Sakura sighed up at him, her eyes confused.

"You don't do much, do you Mr. Dayton?" she asked. Ryan looked down at her and smirked slightly, causing her to blush a light pink. Naruto coughed hastily and the two looked away from each other to the other detectives.

"Let's get moving," Sasuke said. "Kakashi wanted us to go investigate the other areas too."

"But how can we when the evidence has obviously been cleaned up?" Kiba asked. Sasuke sighed and flipped open his cell phone to call Kakashi about their problem in the warehouse. Suddenly, before he could dial the number, his phone started vibrating and his eyes widened when he saw who it was: Kakashi. He pressed the receive button and put the phone to his ear.

"Detective Uchiha speaking."

"Get your asses to the precinct, on the double!" Kakashi's voice yelled.

"Yes sir."

* * *

The group came running into the building, breathing hard as they hurried into their boss' office. The entire division was in a scurry that could only suggest one thing: Jack had struck again. They saw their captain shouting orders they couldn't hear from the top landing and Sakura grabbed hold of the nearest new recruit. "What the hell happened?" she shouted at him.

"J-Jack struck again!" the young police officer stuttered. Sakura's eyes widened as she dropped the young recruit and ran up the stairs to the top landing, Tashino and Ryan following quickly.

"Kakashi, where did it happen?" Tashino exclaimed.

"Tachikawa," her father breathed and Sakura's eyes widened. _'That was at least two hours away from where we were!'_ she thought in horror. "Weren't you in Akishima?"

"Yes, but-" Sakura started, but Kakashi interrupted her angrily.

"Then why weren't you there?" Sakura jerked back from his backlash and tears collected in her eyes. Sasuke ran up the steps quickly just in time to see Tashino holding Sakura from Kakashi's onslaught. He stood in front of them and glared at his boss.

"Kakashi, calm down," he growled. "There wasn't anything we could have done anyway. We would have been out of our jurisdiction."

"Well, it's too late now because we have another dead body." Kakashi stomped down the stairs leaving his team behind as he slammed his office door behind him. Sasuke sighed to himself and turned to see Tashino leading a sobbing Sakura to the couch.

"Don't let it get to you, Sakura," their boss' daughter cooed. "He's just really stressed out right now." Sasuke narrowed his eyes sadly and walked over to sit on Sakura's other side to rub her back soothingly. Sakura looked up at him with confused eyes before giving a small smile to her lap. Tashino glanced at Ryan who was talking to Naruto about transportation to Tachikawa. She got up and walked over to her partner, leaving Sasuke and Sakura alone so she could talk to him.

"Ryan," she whispered interrupting the men's conversation. "Let's go on ahead. We don't want to keep them waiting." The American nodded and shook hands with Naruto to end their conversation. He and Tashino began walking down the steps and were out of the building in twenty seconds flat. Naruto turned to Sasuke and Sakura and saw them on the couch, Sakura's head on his shoulder as Sasuke whispered in her ear.

"Guys," Naruto murmured. Sasuke looked up at him expectantly and nudged Sakura up who rubbed at her eyes to wipe any excess tears away. "Let's get going. Ino already left with Tashino and Ryan."

"Hn." Sakura stood with Sasuke and they grabbed their stuff quickly so they could leave. Sakura, however, stopped at her desk with her hand on a picture frame that sat on top. It was another picture of her family of when they had gone to the beach the day Sakura graduated middle school. She smiled and kissed her fingertips, pressing it to the glass lightly before running after her teammates.

* * *

**_Le sigh -dramatic swoon- Unfortunately, I cannot update until I get ungrounded. I was given this ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY TO ACTUALLY GET ON MAH LAPTOP! -Does little victory dance- XD AHHHH I'M SO HAPPY! Hope you enjoy the first FOUR chapters of Japan's Special Victims Unit: The Ripper!_**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but if I did, Sasuke would be the one chasing after Sakura and Naruto would realize just a LITTLE*COUGH*A LOT*COUGH* sooner that Hinata LOVED HIM! Ahem. Continuing XD!

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**

Chapter 5

'_Good God,'_ Sakura thought in horror. They were at the crime scene where the fourth victim had been found in Akishima, but they weren't ready for what they saw when they got there. Hinata had ridden with Tashino and Ryan so she could be there to process the body first so when Sasuke's group got there, she could tell them what was wrong or, in the victim's case, missing. The minute Sakura had gotten out of the police cruiser was the moment she noticed how there was a group of rookies outside had tears were running down their faces or their expressions were blank. Their eyes were wide in horror and disbelief at the scene inside.

The team were standing in the victim's living room where the body was laid out the way the killer had left it. Her legs were at odd angles like she had been struggling against her captor while her arms were extended on either side of her as the killer pinned her down. Bruises were appearing on her bloody neck where he had strangled her before slitting her throat three times instead of two like the other three victims. But that wasn't the horrible part; the entire front of the woman was slice in the shape of a cross. All her organs were missing from her body, and not just the ones he normally took from his victims. Blood coated the area around her and stretched out to the tiled floor of the kitchen where it was already starting to stain.

"Dear Lord…" Naruto murmured as he stared down at the body. The camera in his hand was held loosely as he stared in horror. Sasuke was taking pictures slowly, much slower than he normally did as he continued to stare at the body. Tashino and Ryan were questioning the victim's boyfriend who had walked in to find the woman another victim of Jack the Copy Cat.

"Sakura, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Ino whispered. She picked at the girl's flesh almost in horror and peered inside the empty body. Sakura gulped and nodded. "He actually took all the organs out this time and let the blood drain from the body. This looks more like a personal grudge rather than a random murder."

"Could…" Sakura let a shaky breath, "Could this be _another_ copy cat that just wanted to get back at her for cheating on him or something?"

"That can't be," Tashino said from behind them. Sakura looked over her shoulder at her boss' daughter to see the woman with a pale face. "Her boyfriend said she didn't have any contact with anyone he knew of."

"I thought Jack only targeted prostitutes," Sasuke said. He was looking over some pictures that were near the front door and he saw some that had the woman clinging to the arm of her boyfriend. _'Why does she seem so familiar?'_

"He does," Ryan said, his voice making Sasuke return to the living.

"Could this mean she was a prostitute as well?" Sakura asked.

Tashino sighed. "Ryan and I will take the boyfriend to the precinct and question him while you four continue looking around," she said. "Don't leave each other's sights, got it?" Sakura and Sasuke nodded along with Naruto and Kiba, but Sakura wasn't so sure things would go as planned. Sasuke watched his partner closely for any sign of reaction to this plan, but all he saw were her scrunched eyebrows and wrinkled nose, showing she was slightly against it. He reached out and lightly touched her arm, gaining her attention slowly. Sakura looked up at Sasuke, biting her lip in anticipation.

"Tashino," Sasuke called out, stopping the woman. "Why don't Sakura and I take the boyfriend while you guys investigate further?" Tashino raised an eyebrow at him before turning away and gesturing for Ryan to follow her.

"Alright, if you really want that," Tashino shrugged. "Do you want to take Naruto and Kiba with you?"

"No, just leave them here with you guys. They can help Ino out with bagging the body." Tashino nodded and waved as Sasuke and Sakura walked out of the small apartment and down the stairs to where they had left the police cruiser. Sasuke saw Sakura stumble and he caught her just before she made a face plant into the hard concrete. He towed her to the car, helping her into the passenger side where she collapsed in a heap of tears and buried her face in her hands. Movement caught his eye and Sasuke looked up to see the distraught boyfriend coming down the stairs to the car.

"Wait here a second," he murmured. Sakura didn't seem to be paying attention as she continued to cry harshly from the emotional trauma and Sasuke slid out of the car quickly to escort the boyfriend to their car. The young woman inside the car peeked through her hands to see where her partner went and saw him walking the boyfriend to the car. She smiled softly when their eyes met briefly and Sasuke winked back at her, making her blush and look away quickly, hiccupping lightly. The car door opened behind her as the boyfriend slid in smoothly and buckled his seat belt quickly, his eyes wide and searching. Sakura turned in her seat and gave him a warm smile.

"Don't worry, sir," she said. "We'll take good care of you." The boyfriend returned her smile carefully, as if he wasn't too sure of her words.

"I just don't understand why someone would attack an innocent woman," Sasuke murmured. They pulled out of the parking lot and Sasuke pushed down hard on the accelerator, the car speeding down the highway.

"Maybe he was growing tired of just targeting prostitutes and decided to hit regular women?" Sakura suggested and Sasuke shrugged. "Who knows," Sasuke sighed. "People these days are growing more and more into a state of anarchy because they think they can do it."

"Excuse me?" the man in the backseat muttered. Sakura put on a cheerful face and turned to look at him through the steel barrier between them.

"Yes, sir?"

"How long am I going to be staying at the station? I have to get back to contact my girlfriend's parents."

"Don't worry, Mr. Washimi," Sasuke said in his monotone voice. "We'll get you home as soon as we are done asking questions."

"How long should that take?"

"Only a half hour or so." The boyfriend nodded slowly and sat back in the seat, his head resting on the window as he watched the afternoon sun. Sakura looked out as well, a sad smile on her lips as she placed her hands on her lap in order to relax from the pressure of the case. Sasuke looked from the road to his partner out of the corner of his eye and saw she had closed her eyes contently, probably asleep. Reaching over silently, he put one of hands on her smaller ones and she jumped awake at the feel of his hand over hers.

"Oh, whoops," Sakura whispered with a giggle. "I need a freakin' good nights sleep so bad!" They were both unaware that Sasuke's hand was still holding Sakura's loosely until Sakura tried pulling her hand up to run it through her hair. A blush lit up her face as Sasuke cleared his throat, a light color splattered on his cheeks. _'This is going to be a long drive,'_ they both thought.

* * *

Sasuke rubbed a shaky hand over his face as the feeling of three cups of coffee caught up with him. In front of him, the boyfriend, Ichiro Washimi, was nodding off after having to spend more than just a half hour in the precinct like the detectives had told him. The male detective had been put in charge of watching Ichiro while Sakura was in the office looking at more evidence that had come with the new body. The white bandages on Sasuke's hands reminded him again of how painstakingly difficult and stressing his job was as it scratched against his unshaven face.

The door opened to reveal a sour looking Sakura and a man that looked several years older than her and Sasuke heard Ichiro jerk up from his position. The lawyer didn't even spare a glance at the detective sitting at the table as he said to Sakura, "My client has no right to be trapped here against his will."

"I'm sorry but we had to keep him here in case the killer came after him as well," Kakashi's voice rang from somewhere behind him. Their boss appeared with a grave look on his face. "It was only a precaution and when we explained the situation to Mr. Washimi, he complied without hesitation."

The lawyer gave the captain a paint-peeling look that irked Sasuke and Sakura. "Fine, but let's hope this never happens again. If you wish to speak to Ichiro, then I must be in the same room." And with that, he left with a very tired Ichiro in tow, the remains of depression for his late girlfriend evident in his features.

Sasuke stood up sharply and pushed past Kakashi and Sakura roughly so he could walk to the locker room. Sakura watched him go just as Kakashi moved in front of her, while murmuring that they could leave, to go to his office and shut the door behind him. She gave a sigh and turned around to look at the almost empty precinct, the only remaining workers Naruto, Kiba, Tashino-who was just about to leave with Ryan-, as well as Sasuke and herself. Speaking of whom, Sasuke had looked ready to burst when he walked into the locker room, so Sakura made her way towards it, only stopping to wake Naruto and tell him to go home.

The female detective opened the door quietly and peeked around the corner. She saw Sasuke sitting on one of the cots in the middle of the room, his head in his hands. Smiling sadly, Sakura walked closer to him and noticed his hands were shaking slightly, whether it be from anger or the several cups of coffee he had drank prior she didn't know. She only knew if he didn't get some sleep, he would snap under to intense pressure all together.

"Sasuke?" Sakura talked as if she were speaking to a young child who was in desperate need for a nap(ironic much?). "Sasuke, let's go home okay?"

Sasuke nodded slowly and stood up to follow her without uttering a single word. This worried Sakura because he would have normally said something like, "Okay" or even the "Hn" he normally gives her, but no answer was given. She didn't say anything as they passed a sleep-deprived Kiba and Naruto, who were just starting to lock up for the night.

"Hey, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura turned to Naruto who was still at the door. "Yes, Naruto?"

"Stay safe tonight, okay?" the blonde asked quietly, keeping his eyes on hers. Sakura nodded happily and followed Sasuke out the door so they could go to their apartment.

* * *

Sasuke's eyes snapped open at the sound of the car turning off and he sat up slowly to look around. He saw Sakura taking the keys from the ignition and the sound of rain caught his ears as it pounded on the metal roof. The young woman took her cell phone from her pocket and checked to see if she had any messages before she returned to a surfacing Sasuke. She gave him a small smile and put a small hand on his arm lightly to shake him in order to wake him up a little more.

"Are you awake all the way?" she asked. Her tone was soft and he smirked tiredly.

"Yeah." Sakura smiled again and reached behind her seat to grab an umbrella, but Sasuke beat her to it and got out to race to the other side and open her door for her. She gave him an approving look and stepped out with his help. They hurried up to their building, shoving the door open and shook the water from their coats and the umbrella. The front lobby was decorated like it was a first class hotel, pillars lined along the walls with pictures of old Japanese theater shows, the pictures hand painted. The floors were tiled and Sakura heels made clacking sounds on the hard surface. There was a staircase that lead to the owner's apartment on the right hand side.

"I'm beat!" Sakura sighed with a yawn. Sasuke smirked down at her as he pressed the button for the elevator. It immediately opened and the two stepped on to go up and get well deserved sleep. They arrived to the fifth floor and walked down the carpeted hallway to the very end of the hall to Sakura's apartment, where she took the key out and unlocked the door. The two stepped inside and they headed to their designated sleeping areas.

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight, Sasuke," murmured Sakura as she padded into the living room. Sasuke was pulling the sofa out but stopped when Sakura sat on it with a thump.

"Sakura, even though YOU might not be tired, but I am, so please get off so I can go to bed." There was a barely evident whine in his voice and Sakura pouted, but slid to the floor and Sasuke grunted as he heaved out the bed.

"I don't see why you just didn't get a futon," sighed Sakura. "You would have saved a lot of trouble by doing that."

"But it costs money," Sasuke grunted while he pulled a comforter from a closet near the door and placed it over the couch bed. Sakura watched him with a child-like gaze; eyes innocent and -dare he say- cute. "Sakura, go to bed. It is two in the morning and we both need sleep."

"But I don't want to." The sleep deprived detective closed his weary eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, something Sakura noticed that Itachi did when he was annoyed. Suddenly, her vision was tilted and she squealed as Sasuke carried her to her bedroom with the girl draped over his shoulder. "Put me down!"

Sasuke dumped her on the bed, but since his reflexes were slowed by exhaustion, Sakura reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him down on top of her. It knocked the breath out of them, but that didn't stop Sakura from giggling lightly. The man on top frowned down at her and she stared back at him, a happy smile on her face that slowly started to fade as they continued to stare at each other.

"You know, Sasuke," Sakura whispered, "you look so much like your brother. Especially when you pinch the bridge of your nose like you did." Sasuke smirked down at her and, without warning, promptly collapsed on top of her. She gasped at the extra weight on her body and she looked over at Sasuke.

"Sakura, just shut up," murmured Sasuke as he fell asleep. Sakura managed to move Sasuke over so he was laying next to her, but Sasuke reached over and wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Sasuke, you have your own bed you know-"

"Shut up. Sleep. Now." Sakura huffed and rolled over instead of arguing with him. She grumbled to herself, making Sasuke smile tiredly. "But thank you for the compliment."

"Shut up. You're lucky I'm letting you do this in the first place…"

"I know…Sakura?"

"Hm?"

"Is it true you were raped when you were younger?" Sakura tensed, which didn't go unnoticed by Sasuke, and refused to look at him. She put a hand on his that was settled on her stomach and lifted it off in order to sit on the edge of the bed.

"If I told you…" Sakura murmured after a moment. "Would you hate me if I said yes?" Sasuke sat up and placed a hand on her shoulder and she jumped.

"Why would I hate you, Sakura?" he whispered.

"Why?" Sakura suddenly turned to him with bared teeth and tearful, angry eyes. "I'm a fucking slut! That _monster _used me as a fucking sex toy after he murdered my parents! I haven't had sex in years because of him, and whenever I am involved in a relationship, that's all they want from me."

"So? Not every guy is like that, Sakura." Sasuke replaced his hand on her shoulder again and pulled her backwards to him. She looked up at him in shock as he stared down at her with his emotionless eyes. "Do you think **I **am like that? Just because I am Japan's number one bachelor?"

"I-I didn't say that."

"It sounds like you did."

"We're not even in a relationship, Sasuke!"

"We are close enough to be in one." That made Sakura freeze. "Sakura, we are _partners_. To be honest, partners are not suppose to be this close to one another. But, I'm asking you," Sasuke leaned forward and looked her straight in the eyes, "do you think I'm not worthy of you just because I _supposedly _think you are a slut?" The tears in Sakura's eyes began to fall and she sobbed once. She gripped Sasuke's shirt sleeve as he allowed her to cry, her tears staining his gray Japan SVU t-shirt. He draped an arm around her waist carefully while the other reached up to stroke her pink locks, pulling at the knots in it.

Sakura drained out of energy quickly from her crying and slumped against her partner, her features scrunched in distress. The man above her sighed and placed her gently on her bed. He pulled the comforter over her and climbed out of the bed in order to continue getting ready for bed. Ten minutes later, Sasuke was sprawled on the pull-out couch, his hands supporting his head as he stared up at the ceiling. What was Sakura to him? He knew she was his partner, but over the past year together along with Naruto and Kiba, he found himself growing far too attached to them.

Running his hands through his hair, Sasuke winced when he pulled out a few strands accidentally. _'I need to stop thinking about it or the stress is going to kill me,' _he thought. The thought of death entered his mind, and his mind wandered to the case. What was so great about those girls this maniac was killing? Why was he choosing them out of the other prostitutes? And why did he kill an innocent woman? The image of the woman from the apartment tickled his memory, and he screwed his eyes shut in order to remember her. He flicked through birthday parties, after school meetings, and even family reunions.

Then, Sasuke's eyes snapped open and they widened at a memory from a police meeting. That woman wasn't just any ordinary woman, but a police detective from Japan Police Department.

* * *

**_(A/N): YO WHAT UP MAH PEEPS! Lol. I decided to go ahead and keep updating to the chapter I stopped with, which is like, Chapter 7! I feel so accomplished :3. Btw, there will definitely be a BUNCH of SasuSaku in MANY of my stories, just to let you know! I do not own Naru-chan!_**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Are you absolutely sure, Sasuke?" puffed Kakashi. Sasuke had immediately called his boss the following morning, alerting him of the dead Japan Police Department detective that sat in their morgue.

"I am as sure as Sakura wearing lacy thongs," Sasuke said with a monotone voice. It went completely silent as glances were exchanged between the beet red female detective and the completely oblivious Sasuke. "What? It is not like laundry is a big deal in our apartment." He was silenced by a heavy blow from Sakura, who refused to look at anyone in the face.

"Um, okay…" Naruto trailed off. He honestly did NOT want to know what was going on in that apartment. Tashino chewed on her bottom lip in order not to laugh out loud, letting out a snort every now and then.

"Noriko Uchigawa," Kakashi butt in suddenly, not glancing up from his computer screen. Everyone in the room gathered around him to peer at the status of their latest victim. Sakura looked up and caught Sasuke's eye and a blush the color of a tomato lit up her face. She looked back at the computer when Tashino started speaking.

"Noriko was put on the case with us, but she stayed there and went undercover as a prostitute in Akishima. Poor Ichiro…He really loved Noriko."

"He's doing this on purpose," a voice from the doorway startled the group besides Kakashi. They turned around and saw a man standing there, his hair pulled into a spiky pony tail on the top of his head and a cigarette hanging from his teeth. His deep brown eyes roved from each of them, filled with boredom but intelligence. "Jack is showing he is willing to kill anyone who gets in his way."

"Welcome, Mr. Nara," Kakashi said firmly.

"The pleasure is mine, Detective Hatake," the man drawled. The man walked forward and stretched a hand in front of Sasuke and Naruto. "The name's Shikamaru Nara, therapy counselor and shrink from Tokyo University. I was called in order to help with the case?"

"Yes, thank you very much for coming," Sakura reached forward and shook his hand gratefully. "You don't know how much this means to all of us!"

"You knew he was coming, Sakura?" asked Tashino.

"Yes, I did. He called me the other night and told me he would be doing our partner evaluations that are coming up." Sasuke grunted at the comment and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Ryan," Kakashi suddenly barked, "what was the last report Ms. Noriko sent in?" The American looked up at the mention of his name and grimaced.

"I can't be sure, sir. The day we left, I saw Noriko turn in a folder to Asuma that looked like a police report."

"Okay, good." Kakashi walked around his desk and began to pull his cell phone out. "You are all excused for now. Sakura, call Ino and see what the autopsy report is on Ms. Noriko."

"Yes, sir."

"Sasuke and Naruto, please follow Mr. Nara to one of the interrogation rooms to start your evaluations. On your way up, please snag Kiba while you are at it." The two younger men followed the shrink upstairs to where rooms had been set up just for the partner evaluations. _'What if I fail it?' _Sasuke thought. _'Will they let Sakura and I stay partners?'_

"Yo, Sasuke," Naruto whispered. His polar opposite looked at him before he walked in to be evaluated, "Don't worry about it! You and Sakura were meant to be partners."

"Thanks, Dobe." Sasuke walked in after Shikamaru and sat at the metal table. Shikamaru sat across from him and they stared at each other intently. Sasuke's fingers began to fidget on the table, tapping the metal lightly. It was almost as if the man in front of him was probing him for the answers instead of asking him directly.

"Sasuke Uchiha." His name suddenly startled him and Sasuke blinked. "Twenty-four; single; currently living with detective Sakura Haruno under certain circumstances. Family died in accident at age of eight and only living relative is Itachi Uchiha, whom is currently undergoing chemotherapy for lung cancer in its second stage." Shikamaru leaned forward with his hands crossed over his mouth and a smirk gracing his features. "You have been through quite a lot, haven't you, Mr. Uchiha?"

"Just Sasuke is fine," Sasuke growled as he leaned back in his chair. "How do you know all that?"

"Kakashi gave me each of your files to look through before I evaluated you."

"Well, let's get this thing over with so I can get back out there."

"Let's get straight to the point then, Sasuke. How is your relationship with Sakura Haruno?" Sasuke captured his chin between his thumb and index finger.

"We became partners last year in the program, but we met each other in high school. We're not exactly the closest you could get, but I would risk my life for her." Shikamaru clicked his tongue and looked through a file he had in front of him. Sasuke caught sight of a sliver of pink from the folder and he narrowed his eyes. _'He is not about to do what I think he is going to do.'_

"Sasuke, are you aware that Sakura was raped when she was a teenager?"

"What has this got to do with anything?" Sasuke growled.

"Emotional trauma can have a great effect on someone's relationship-"

"I don't give a shit! You don't bring something up like that, especially if it is with their _partner _of all people. If all shrinks are like this, then I'm not going to take everyone's advice and see an anger management counselor. You son of a bitch, I can't see how Sakura can stand you!" Sasuke stood up and his chair went flying into the wall behind him. His face was red with anger, his fists curled in while fresh blood started staining the white bandages. Shikamaru remained calm as he watched Sasuke storm to the door and put a bleeding hand on the handle.

"Is this how you act around Sakura?"

Sasuke froze completely, a hand gripping the door handle. "Should I take that as a yes?" asked the shrink. Sasuke's shoulders slumped and he turned towards him, his eyes narrowed with emotion.

"Is it bad if you depend on you partner more than you should?" Sasuke whispered, facing the one way mirror on the opposite wall.

"That depends," Shikamaru sighed. "What do you mean by that?"

"I…I don't know." Sasuke put a hand on the mirror as he looked at his reflection, and seeing his own saddened expression wasn't watched alone. On the other side of the mirror stood Sakura, her eyes widened and a blush settling on her cheeks. When Sasuke placed a hand on the glass, Sakura mimicked his movements slowly, spreading her fingers to match his. "I just feel like I'm using her for my own personal use. She is my way of escaping the darkness when I am so _angry_."

There was an edge to his voice and Sasuke let his hand slip off the glass, but Sakura's remained. She watched her partner turn his back on the glass, his shoulders heaving. A hand was placed on her shoulder and the young woman looked up at Naruto, who had a pleased look on his face.

_See? _he mouthed and Sakura blushed, her eyes wide and mouth slight agape. She turned her attention back to her partner's evaluation. Sasuke's shoulders were still, but she could see the muscles in his back moving underneath his white dress shirt. _'Years of working out really paid off,' _Sakura thought with a smile. Then, she shook her head of those thoughts, blushing wildly. _'Where the hell did those thoughts come from?'_

"I see," Shikamaru murmured. "It seems you really care for Sakura."

"Like I said," Sasuke said, his head held high. Sakura's eyes widened as he said his next sentence with a genuine smile on his face,

"I would risk my own life for hers."

* * *

Sasuke sat at his desk writing down a number of contacts Noriko Uchigawa last spoke to before she was murdered. He laid down his pen and ran a hand through his hair again, exhaling loudly as he examined his work. Behind him, the door to the precinct opened and he looked around to see Ryan and Tashino walking in with a small box filled with papers. They walked past him to Kakashi's office and Sasuke had a clue of what was in those boxes. So, he stood up and followed the pair to his boss' office. He knew his partner was upstairs being questioned by Shikamaru, who wasn't that much of a jackass after all.

The male detective reached the office when suddenly the door slammed shut with a bang. Sasuke rushed forward when the sounds of shouting filled the small space, but when he tried to open the door, he found it locked.

"Kakashi?" Sasuke shouted. He banged on the door and it suddenly opened and he was pulled in unexpectedly. When he looked around the room, his eyes widened when he saw the box they had brought in was on the ground and its contents were spilled everywhere. "What is the meaning of this? What are all these pictures-no, _where did they come from?_"

The papers Sasuke had seen weren't papers; they were pictures of everyone on the case. Pictures of them going home; ones of them with family, especially Kakashi, his wife, and Tashino. There were some of Sasuke and Sakura walking into Sakura's apartment building and some of Naruto at his favorite restaurant. Kiba was seen with his sister and dog, Akamaru, playing in the park.

"You are not to speak of this with any one of them, do you hear me?" hissed a very pissed Kakashi. Tashino looked like she was on the verge of crying as she nodded while Ryan nodded jerkily. There was one of him, too. It was him at the Japanese airport, holding a laughing woman in his arms. Sasuke looked in horror and anger at the pictures, his teeth bared and his fists trembling.

"D-Daddy," whimpered the only girl in the room. "What are we going to do? Mom can't know! Sh-She just can't!"

"Don't worry, baby," Kakashi reassured. "I won't let him touch you." Sasuke chose this time to leave and he slammed the door open, attracting attention from everyone in the room outside the office. Sakura was just coming down the steps when she saw him stomping to his desk and shoving his stuff into his bag.

"Sasuke?" she called to him, but he didn't hear her in his anger. Sakura rushed over to him and placed a hand on his arm cautiously. Shikamaru watched the two from the top of the loft, one of his eyebrows raised as he watched Sakura lead a pissed Sasuke outside to help him relieve his anger. _'It seems_ _as though my decision will be quite hard to make.' _

Sakura led her partner outside the room to the locker room where he sat on the bench in the middle of the room. His hands trembled as he put his head in them, his eyes burning with tears of frustration. _'That sick bastard just won't stop until he has hit every single one of us,' _Sasuke thought savagely. His partner sat next to him and put an arm around his shoulders so she could comfort him, leaning her head on his when Sasuke grabbed for her hand desperately.

"Do you want to tell me what happened, Sasuke?" Sakura asked gently. Sasuke didn't answer, but turned his head until his face was facing her shoulder. "Please, Sasuke. I can't help you if I don't know what is wrong."

"…" Sasuke looked up at her from the corner of his eyes and let go of her hand. "Nothing. I'm just really stressed right now." He snorted. "And it's only noon." Sakura continued to look at him with sad eyes before nodding slowly and closing her eyes.

"Okay. Let's go back out," whispered Sakura. Their eyes met as Sakura opened her eyes to look at him. Sasuke swallowed when he looked into her green eyes, his palms going sweaty for some odd reason. A blush spread across Sakura's face like paint on a canvas as the memory of what Sasuke had said about her back in the interrogation room with Shikamaru resurfaced. Unknown to her, that was the same reason Sasuke was becoming like jelly in front of her. He licked his lips subconsciously as he looked from her eyes to her lips every couple of second and Sakura's eyes became half-lidded when Sasuke leaned forward slightly.

Suddenly, the door opened and Naruto slid in. Sakura jerked away from Sasuke and the two slid away from each other when Naruto rounded the corner to where they were sitting. "Here you guys are!" Naruto exclaimed. The two partners were staring away from one another, blushes on their faces. Naruto raised an eyebrow at them before snorting and backing up. "Sorry I ruined the moment between you two, but Kakashi wants us all outside."

"O-Okay," Sakura stuttered. Naruto left with a snicker and shut the door behind him, leaving the two alone again. The woman stood, straightening her jeans and tank top and cleared her throat, gaining Sasuke's attention. "We might as well go see what Kakashi wants, Sasuke." She still kept her gaze off him, keeping it on the wall to her right. Sasuke gave her a smirk and stood up, placing a hand on her shoulder briefly before walking out after Naruto. Sakura smiled softly at the door as it closed with a small snap.

Sakura walked over to her locker and opened it, seeing the small music box her mother had given her for her tenth birthday. Winged angels were hand painted on the outside and along the sides and a gold clasp kept the box closed. She opened it and the tune from The Nutcracker flowed from it silently. Smiling, she closed it again and shut her locker to follow her partner outside.

* * *

**Tokyo Avenue**

**Ichiraku Café 4:20 PM**

"I hate going undercover," grumbled Naruto.

"At least you're not one of the ones wearing the mini skirt," Sasuke sighed. He watched Sakura and Tashino sit outside a coffee shop, their outfits pissing him off. Sure they were doing it in order to catch their Jack the Ripper, but didn't the last time teach Kakashi anything? Especially when it came to his daughter, for Christ's sake!

"Well let's hope nothing goes wrong this time," Naruto breathed. He raised his camera and clicked a few times at the two woman. Tashino turned to look at them and smirked coyly for some of Naruto's pictures. The blond blushed as he put the camera down slowly. Sakura turned to look at what Tashino was staring at and she blushed too at Sasuke's gaze. Suddenly, their vision was blocked by one of the waiters asking for their orders. Something about the man gave her shivers that raced down her spine and she tried her best to look natural as she scooted to the _other _side of her seat.

Tashino silently questioned her motives by raising an eyebrow. Sakura looked over Sasuke and Naruto, fear in her features that the two caught quickly.

"Is there something wrong, miss?" the waiter asked. There was something in his voice that told her this man was knowing what he was doing by scaring her. He wore a hat over his hair, so his hair was hidden from them but his face wasn't, but the shadow of the hat covered his eyes.

"Ah, no," Sakura stammered. "Say, do you have a bathroom here?"

"Yes, we do." The waiter pointed it out in the small restaurant and Sakura stood up to walk inside. She could feel the man's eyes on her as she walked away and she bit her lip in anticipation. When she was halfway through the little café, she looked up at one of the glass containers where the refreshments were kept and saw the waiter following a good distance behind her. The scar on her side from when she had been stabbed by the killer began to throb slightly and her heart began to race inside her chest.

Sakura turned a corner and saw the women's bathroom and she sighed in relief. But, as soon as she put her hand on the doorknob, a hand landed on her shoulder and spun her around. Her green eyes met deep black and Sakura froze as the waiter gave her a leering smile. She opened her mouth to scream but he slapped a hand over her mouth and her scream was muffled.

"I would suggest you hush, Sakura Haruno," came a deep growl from the man in front of her. Sakura's eyes widened when he said her name. Was this Jack the Ripper? She shuddered when he ran a hand under her shirt and smoothed a hand over the pink scar he had made. "How do you like my work, Miss Haruno?"

Sakura moved away from his mouth and spat, "You are a monster who thinks he can control women by torturing! Is that how you get off? At other people's pain?"

The man reared his hand back and slapped her across the face, making her bite her cheek. Blood rushed into her mouth and she used this opportunity to spit a glob of blood in his face. He chuckled and wiped it away with his free hand.

"Feisty, aren't we? I like that." He pressed his body against her and Sakura choked on the stench of blood that emanated off him. Sakura saw him reach behind his back and she froze, completely still as she watched him produce a knife the size of his forearm. She whimpered but glared up at him, defying him. But then, the moment he put the knife on her inner thigh, her eyes widened and she let out a loud scream.

"Sakura!" She was spun around and the knife was at her throat. Sakura saw Sasuke and Naruto, Tashino behind them, with their guns drawn. "Let her go," Tashino growled.

"Ah, Sasuke Uchiha," their suspect replied in a tone that friends would use. "I see you are well. Has the stress not affected you at all?"

"Of course not," scoffed the Uchiha. "It was only a matter of time before we found you."

"Tell me, Mr. Uchiha. How is your brother?" Sasuke stiffened at the mention of his brother, but he kept his expression emotionless. "Well, I hope?"

"Shut your mouth!" Naruto shouted. His gun clicked as he turned the safety off.

"Ah, ah, ah," the suspect tutted. He pressed the knife harder to Sakura's neck, a whimper escaping her lips. "You wouldn't want an 'accident' to happen, would you?"

"Sakura, listen to me," Tashino said in a hushed tone. Sakura's eyes flickered to the older woman and she looked at her in a scared way. "You must calm down. He is not going to hurt you." Her red eyes moved slowly to the man's, catching his dark ones. "Let her go or we **will **shoot you."

"If I let her go, you must let me go as well." His voice hissed in her ear and Sakura's eyes narrowed in anger. The next moment, Sakura slammed her head back and smashed his nose in, blooding flowing down his face as he howled in pain. She stumbled over to Sasuke, who caught and handed her to Tashino before turning his gun to the man in front of them. But, he was no longer there, the door to the kitchen swinging shut.

"Naruto, go after him through the kitchen," Sasuke exclaimed. "I'll go around the other way." The blond nodded and rushed after their suspect through the kitchen. Sasuke gave one look at Sakura and Tashino before pushing past them and he ran out of the café to the alley beside it. When he turned the corner, he saw the man sprinting the other way with Naruto on his tail. He started running while pulling out his cell phone to call in backup.

"I need reinforcements at Tokyo Avenue near Ichiraku's!" He snapped his phone shut and put on an extra burst of speed to catch up with Naruto. Once he caught up, Naruto grinned at him and they chased Jack the Ripper through the alley until they reached the other side of Tokyo Avenue.

"Where…Where did he go?" Naruto puffed. The streets were lined with people trying to cross through the work rush. Sasuke walked over to a lamp post and squinted his eyes to look over the sea of people going home from work. Suddenly, he caught sight of the uniform from the café and he signaled for Naruto to follow him. Him and Naruto moved forward, carefully avoiding people as they followed the Ripper several feet behind him.

The man looked around him to make sure he wasn't being followed and turned into an alley quickly. The two detectives slinked in after him quietly, making sure they weren't seen when the man turned again suspiciously. He stopped at a door and looked around again before opening it and walking in, shutting the door with a snap. Naruto and Sasuke looked at one another before following in after him, sliding through a window beside the door.

They looked around the warehouse they had stepped into, noticing the powerful stench of decay floating around. The sound of flies buzzing around droned in the ears as they hid behind support beams when they saw the suspect. All of a sudden, the man walked to another door that most likely led to the street outside and disappeared, leaving the men in the stinking warehouse.

"What do you think he came in here for?" Naruto asked as he lowered his gun. Sasuke shrugged and he held his sleeve to his nose.

"What is that horrible smell?" murmured Sasuke. He went further into the warehouse until he came to a freezer door where the stench was most powerful. "Hey, Dobe."

"Yeah?" Naruto voice rang from the other side of the structure.

"Get over here and help me open this door." Naruto jogged over to him and tried to pry his fingers into the sliver of space Sasuke had managed to create. The powerful smell engulfed their noses and the two suppressed gags as they forced the door open. The door slammed against the wall and Naruto peered in before Sasuke, who bit his lip in anticipation. What they saw horrified them to no end; the bodies of women hung like pieces of beef in a butcher's shop. Their mutilated corpses were lifted by huge metal hooks that pierced their frozen skin, thin red paths marking where they had bled to death.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Sasuke murmured as Naruto stuttered into his phone that they needed more backup than they thought they would.

* * *

_**(A/N): Ugh, this story is so hard to write sometimes. If you haven't realized by now, the reason this story is rated Mature is because of the gore and there is most likely going to be a LEMON somewhere in here.**_

_**Sasuke: YES!**_

_**Sakura: Ugh, this is more than I can take!**_

_**KD: Man, ya'll need to CHILLAX! PLEASE REVIEW AND BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE PROGRESS!**_


	7. Chapter 7

**_Sorry for the long update! I'm just pacing myself cuz I'm a SLOOOOOOOOOW writer! CHRISTMAS IS IN A FEW DAYS! OMFJESUS! *Coughs* Ahem, sorry, ladies and gentlemen._**

**_Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto, but if I did, I would go in there and kick Sasuke's ass myself! He has NO RIGHT TO TURN PHYSCHO EVILNESS AND TRY TO KILL EVERYONE! *Roars*_

* * *

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Chapter 7

"_Ten bodies were found yesterday evening in downtown Tokyo last night that may be part of the Jack the Copy Cat rapist case. SVU detectives refuse to give full details, and Japan Police Department have yet to capture the suspect. Sources say the bodies are all women in their late teens and early twenties, all presumably prostitutes from the area. With a killer on the loose, can our city become safe once aga-"_

The television shut off abruptly and the action was followed by a deathly silence as the SVU precinct let the horror sink in. Sasuke felt his face go white in shock at what he had just seen. _'How the _hell _had the reporters gotten there so quick?' _he thought. Then, the dreaded shout of pure anger sounded through the whole office.

"**How the hell did this happen?" **Kakashi shouted. He stormed out of his office until he was standing in the middle of them. "I want to know how the hell this got leaked to the press when we made sure they couldn't get it?"

"How the hell are we suppose to know?" Sasuke countered. Kakashi turned to him with fury in his eyes. "We just got back from the fucking hospital where Sakura is being treated for nearly being killed! **AGAIN!**"

"Maybe if she had not been so vulnerable, then she wouldn't have been threatened like that," growled the captain.

"You sent your own _daughter _onto the battle field, when you promised her nothing would happen to her. What would have happened if **she **had been the one with a knife at her throat? With a killer who's raped and murdered **DOZENS **of women right behind her, endangering her life with the sole intentions of raping and mutilating her body! What then?"

"Sasuke." The man froze and turned to look at the door. Sakura stood there with a blanket draped around her shoulders and Tashino and Naruto at her side. Her eyes were moist with tears as she stepped away from her friends and walked to him.

"Sakura, you're suppose to be at the-" But Sasuke was silenced as a stinging pain resonated from his cheek. Sakura replaced the hand she had used to slap Sasuke to her side and glared at him.

"You have no right to lecture Kakashi like that," she told him. Sasuke turned to look at her slowly with wide eyes, his mouth set in a hard line as she continued. "We all knew the consequences of that assignment. At least we gained _some_ kind of info from it, even though it was a failure."

No one spoke out against the two detectives as they watched. What Sakura had said was true; no matter how stressing and painstakingly hard this assignment was, they knew the results would be life-changing to everyone. Tashino stepped forward to where Sakura stood and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Let's go get you something to drink," the woman whispered. Sakura nodded and gave Sasuke one last look before letting herself be led up the stairs and into the staff room. The people on the main level just stared at Sasuke and Kakashi, waiting to see if another dispute would start now that Sakura had left. When one didn't, they walked away to continue with what they were doing before. Sasuke huffed under his breath in irritation and stomped his way over the exit. He brushed past Kiba, who narrowed and closed his eyes in anger.

"Sasuke?" asked Naruto quietly.

"Leave me alone," Sasuke whispered. Naruto's nose wrinkled in anger and he swung around to put an hand on Sasuke's shoulder, but the hurt man grabbed his wrist and squeezed sharply. The blond detective winced when something cracked and Sasuke snarled, "I said leave me alone."

"Don't you dare use that tone with me, Uchiha," Naruto growled back. Sasuke stiffened at his last name and eyed Naruto with a glare so malicious his partner had to take a step back.

"Leave me the fuck alone, Naruto, and I won't hurt you again." Sasuke then turned his back on a steaming Naruto. But as he was walking out the door, Naruto grabbed his shoulder again and twisted him around again. Before anyone knew what was happening, the detectives were decking it out and their fists were flying everywhere. One of Naruto's punches connected with Sasuke's cheek, sending him colliding into a desk. Sakura and Tashino hurried out of the staff room just in time to see Sasuke grabbing Naruto by his shirt collar and slamming his head into Naruto's.

"STOP!" Sakura screamed, but it was still not enough to stop the two detectives. She sprinted down the steps with Tashino calling after her and rushed over to the two men. Just as Naruto and Sasuke hurled themselves at each other with the intent to kill, Sakura stood in the middle of them with tears running down her face and her arms out to stop them. _'Shit!' _the fighting men thought when the momentum continued to carry them forward.

"Sakura!" Tashino cried out. Suddenly, a blur appeared between the three young detectives and Naruto and Sasuke were halted in their tracks as Kakashi stood there holding their fists. He flung them away and they slammed onto the floor hard. Sakura stood there, her whole frame shaking in shock. She had actually **FELT **their killing intent when they had leapt at each other. Their boss sighed in frustration and stood up straight to look at his favorite pupils.

"I recommend that you two suck up your anger towards each other or I will have your badges. Get those sticks out of your asses or you will surely regret it." Kakashi turned to Sasuke and glowered at him. "I expected better out of you, Sasuke." Said detective looked away in shame and wiped the blood trickling from his forehead. Naruto gathered some of the blood in his mouth and spat it to the floor. Then, he looked up at Sakura and his eyes widened in fear and sadness. Sasuke followed his gaze up and his mouth opened in shocked and his eyes went wider than Naruto's.

Sakura was still shaking and staring from Sasuke and Naruto in utter horror, tears constantly falling from her eyes. Her eyes were just as wide as Sasuke's, but they closed shut tightly and she shook her head from side to side. Turning away from them, she sprinted out of the silent room, her footsteps the only sounds in the precinct. Sasuke found him unintentionally reaching out to her, fear set as his expression.

Tashino shook herself out of her shocked phase and ran after Sakura. The door to the precinct closed on them all; Naruto's saddened figure, Kakashi's disappointed look, and the betrayed Sasuke. _'I have been left alone…' _His hands clenched as his eyes closed against the onslaught of tears. '_…Again.'_

* * *

The rain pelted harshly on the crouching figure that was sitting on the front steps of the precinct. A cigarette hung lazily in Sasuke's mouth; a habit he had tried to break after Itachi was diagnosed with lung cancer. He couldn't believe he had almost hit Sakura. Hit_ her_ for God's sake. And the look on her face showed it all…Sasuke leaned his head between his knees with his hands grasping at his soaked hair. _'She obviously hates us now,' _he thought sadly. A flash of her scared face made him flinch and he leaned back to rest against the water-drenched concrete wall.

Sasuke fiddled with the slightly burning cancer-stick in his mouth until he took it out and flicked it in a nearby trashcan. He stood up slowly and lumbered his way back into the station with a forlorn expression. Kakashi had made him and Naruto stay behind to clean up the mess they had made and forced them to stay together until they apologized to one another. His cheek was still swollen from Naruto's hit and his _best friend_ had a hairline fracture in his wrist. He stopped and placed his palm against the glass of the door. What had possessed him to do that?

Upon entering the empty office space, he saw Naruto leaned back in his chair, snoring through a broken nose. Sasuke looked at his watch and sighed at the time. Naruto had a right to have fallen asleep since it was after two in the morning. Looking around, he noticed the light was on in Kakashi's office and stepped quietly over in case his boss had fallen asleep. Suddenly, voices inside made him freeze in his steps.

"Are you absolutely sure this is what you want to do?" Kakashi asked. Sakura, who stood in front of his desk with her hands folded in front of her, nodded sadly.

"Yes," whispered the woman. Sasuke peered through the crack in the door to watch his partner and boss. He saw Sakura reach into her jacket pocket and pull out her SVU badge as well as her gun.

"You'll need that gun in JPD," murmured Kakashi. Sakura jumped lightly at his statement, but smiled and pocketed her gun carefully. "Do Tashino and Ryan know of this?"

"Yes, they do. Ryan was the one who recommended it." There was something in her voice that had Sasuke trying to get air back in his lungs. Her tone was so sorrowful that tears pushed to Sasuke's eyes once again that night, but this time they spilled over and plopped to the ground.

"Well, I hope you have a good time there. Asuma would be…" Kakashi cleared his throat thickly and Sasuke looked up in surprise. "…He would be glad to have you on his force." Sakura bowed low to him and turned to leave, but stopped in her tracks when she found Sasuke standing there with tears running down his face. A lump grew in her throat that prevented her from speaking.

"W-What-" Sasuke started, but he found he had trouble speaking. He swallowed heavily before speaking again. "What are you doing, Sakura?"

Sakura looked away with her fists clenched and eyes screwed shut. "I…I am transferring over to JPD," she said quietly. "I can't stand being here anymore, especially if you are all fighting for my benefit."

"Sakura, just think about what you are doing for a second-"

"I've been doing that for the past few hours now!" Sakura exclaimed. Sasuke recoiled at her sudden outburst and more tears started forming but he willed them away. "I just hate the fact that you guys do nothing but _fight _because of me." Her voice cracked and the same tears Sasuke was trying so hard not to shed leaked from her own eyes. She started walking towards him but side stepped him to get through the door. Sasuke felt his breath hitch when her shoulder accidentally brushed his, and he turned to go after her. Kakashi stared at them as they left before putting his hands over his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

In the process of running after Sakura, Sasuke inadvertently hit Naruto's chair, causing the sleeping blond to snort awake. When he saw the scene behind him, Naruto sprang up and clumsily followed after them.

"Sakura, wait!" Sasuke called as he opened the door that had just swung shut. Sakura had just hailed a cab to go to her apartment. She stopped from getting in when Sasuke grabbed her hand and pulled her from the car.

"Let go of me!" Sakura cried. She wrenched her hand from his grasp and stood rigid in the freezing rain. Her whole frame was shaking from the cold and the sobs that were racking her small body. Sasuke stopped short from yelling at her and just stood there, not knowing what to do for his friend. Naruto burst through the door and halted at the sight of his two friends and partners. _'Sasuke must have found out about Sakura's transfer,'_ he thought regrettably. He had unfortunately heard her and Tashino talking about it, and how Ryan had suggested it to her.

"Please, Sakura," pleaded Sasuke. "Just…Just stay here. We-We were planning on seeing Itachi tomorrow afternoon."

Sakura shook her head quickly with bared teeth. Naruto tightened his fists and looked away sadly. "I have already made the arrangements to be transferred. It's too late now." Sasuke had nothing else to say now. He was going to lose his partner; no, his _friend_. He was going to be lonely. _**Again**_.

Just as she turned to get in the waiting cab, Sasuke grabbed her hand again and pulled her back -and into his arms. Sakura resisted at first, pushing against his chest with her small hands, but Sasuke held fast. Then, all her movements stopped and much more violent sobs ripped from her chest and through her lips. She grasped at the back of his white -now see-through- shirt.

"I don't want you to go," Sasuke murmured. "You are a valuable detective; so please don't leave us." Sakura shook her head again and forcefully pulled away from his warm body.

"I have to," sniffed Sakura. She wiped her nose with the back of her sleeve and gave him a sad smile. Naruto walked down the steps to them and pulled Sakura to him just as Sasuke had, but squeezed her hard like he was her brother seeing his sister off to college.

"We'll miss you, Sakura," he said softly. Sakura nodded and Naruto let go of her so she could get in the cab. Sasuke's breathing got faster as he watched Sakura close the door behind her and he rushed forward, tapping on the glass of the window quickly. Sakura rolled down the window and looked up at him -only to have him press his lips to her forehead. A blush lit up her cheeks as the car starting driving away and she rolled the window up. She looked behind her through the back window and saw the two men still standing on the sidewalk.

Naruto looked at Sasuke, half expecting for the man to run after the cab, but smiled when he saw his expression instead. Sasuke had a little bit of color in his cheeks and a content smile on his lips. Clapping a hand to his friend's shoulder, the blond walked back inside the precinct with his hands behind his head. Watching the red tail lights of the cab disappear around the corner that led to Sakura's apartment, Sasuke finally sighed and shook his soaked bangs from face to look up at the crying sky.

Then, a problem arose: Would they still be sleeping in the same apartment?

* * *

Hinata pulled the white sheet over the final body of the many women that had been found in the warehouse. She had spent twelve hours cutting up the innocent women that maniac had killed. Sighing loudly, she wiped her sweaty bangs from her eyes and planted her hands on her hips in satisfaction at her work. Pulling her long hair into a bun, she began pushing the body to one of the freezers stationed along the wall.

"I should get paid double for this," she said as she cracked her knuckles. The morgue door opened and Kiba walked in. A file sat in his hands which Hinata held out a hand for. "Good morning, Detective Inuzuka. How may I help you?"

"I need you to look over the old autopsy reports from the first few victims," Kiba said in a solemn tone. Hinata raised an eyebrow as she took the folder from him.

"What's wrong, Kiba?" the coroner asked.

"Sakura transferred to JPD early this morning." Hinata placed a hand over her mouth in surprise and had to steady herself on the metal table near the woman's corpse.

"Are you certain? Why would she do that?" she exclaimed.

"All I know is she got fed up with Naruto and Sasuke fighting over her safety and quit her spot her for Asuma's force." Kiba sighed and rubbed a hand over his tired eyes. "It's no wonder those two snapped under the pressure."

"This case is throwing all balance off wack," Hinata muttered. Kiba nodded and looked up to stare at her, a small smile on his face.

"Would you like to go out with me this Saturday?" the senior detective invited, a faint blush on his face. Hinata's own face blew up in her famous blush, one that lit up her whole face and made her feel faint. As if reading her expression, Kiba chuckled and said, "Don't even think of fainting on me now, Hyuuga."

"I-I k-k-know," stuttered Hinata. Kiba smiled happily and reached out to take her hand. "P-P-Pick me up a-at s-s-seven, then?"

"Sure thing, as long as you stop stuttering." Hinata gave a weak laugh as she brushed away some hair that had escaped from her bun. She nodded and smiled shyly up at him before she began to push him out the door.

"Okay, now that you are done here," she giggled. "I need to get back to work." Kiba started to stutter out his reply, but Hinata finally shoved him out the door and closed it behind her. Kiba appeared in the thin strip of glass on the door and pressed his face against it.

"Your welcome for the files by the way," his voice floated through. Hinata rolled her eyes and waved him away, a strong blush on her face. He walked away as Hinata turned around to look through the files he had brought for her, a small smile on her lips. She sat down at her desk that was littered with information about the "Ten Josei" or "Ten Ladies" which she had named herself. So far, she had been able to identify only three because they had been reported missing months before they had been found. The woman found it impossible how a single man could do so much damage to a human being.

Suddenly, Hinata picked her head up in sudden realization and she stood up, knocking her chair over wildly in her attempt to the evidence she had taken off the victims.

"How," she murmured to herself, "is it possible for ONE MAN to get ten dead women into a storage unit without causing attention?" Putting on a pair of latex gloves, she took a skimpy blouse from a plastic bag and rushed over to the microscope on one of the examination tables. She sprayed a mixture for the second time on the shirt that would show the prints she had already seen before. But this time, she took careful analysis of each print and took samples of them. She pulled the microscope closer to her and all but shoved the samples under the high powered glass. When she zeroed in to look at the very small but noticeable strands of DNA, she smiled and took the slabs out. She then slid them into the computer, where it officially showed there were two different strands of the substance that did not belong to the victim.

But, when she looked at one particular set, her face paled. Hinata blindly reached for the cell phone next to her and scrambled to search for the number she wanted to dial. As soon as the person picked up, she exclaimed in one breath:

"I found two different sets of DNA on the clothes!" Then, taking a big breath, she said, "Kakashi, we just made a breakthrough in this case! There are TWO suspects, and you will never believe who one of the prints belongs to."

* * *

Sasuke stood outside Sakura's apartment, his hand clenched around the spare key Sakura had given him in case he needed to get inside before her. He needed to know whether or not he was still living with her, because Kakashi had not told him otherwise; it wasn't every day that Sasuke Uchiha lived with a girl. Footsteps were heard behind him and a voice called out, "Sasuke?"

The man twisted around quickly and saw the very woman he had been thinking about. Sakura was looking at him expectantly in her new uniform; a gray button up shirt with matching gray slacks. A name plate with her last name was pinned to her shirt and her gun was strapped low on her hip, which was cocked in her no-nonsense-no-business stance. Either that or it was her I'm-annoyed-at-you stance. Whichever one it was, Sasuke didn't care; he was just glad she was there. In her arms were bags of groceries for the week

"Uh, hey, Sakura," Sasuke muttered. He turned back to the door and inserted the key into the lock, giving it a twist and pushed the door open upon hearing it click. Sakura eyed him curiously as she followed him inside and she walked into the kitchen to set the bags on the counter. She looked up to see Sasuke just standing in the middle of her living room, staring at her as if he was waiting for an answer.

"What's wrong, Sasuke?" she asked in concern. "Did something happen today?"

"Am I still living here?" Sasuke suddenly asked. Sakura started slightly and her eyes widened a little before returning to normal.

"Why would ask that? We are still in danger, you know!"

"I know…" Sakura sighed quietly as she walked over to where he stood. "You know, Sasuke," she started, "it's not smart to worry so much. You will get premature wrinkles."

Sasuke grunted softly and shrugged. "Oh well. I have to worry about something or someone more than myself every once in a while." A strange reaction bubbled in Sasuke's chest as Sakura giggled and lowered her head as she laughed lightly.

"Yeah, but that's a lot of stuff, you know." Sasuke raised an eyebrow in slight surprise and put a hand on his hip and cocking it.

"In which you should already know by now." When Sakura stared at him in confusion, Sasuke gave a soft smile and reached out to take her hand in his. "Well, for starters, Itachi is a concern because I don't know whether or not he is going to be all right." He pulled her closer until they were not even two inches away from one another. Sakura blushed a light pink at their sudden closeness and had to place her small hand on his chest, where she could feel years of working out make their appearance.

"Another thing I am so worried about is everyone in the precinct," he whispered and he took one step in until the space between them was barely even a centimeter. The blush on Sakura's cheeks got darker and her other hand reached up to her own chest. Then, Sasuke gave her the most gorgeous smile she had ever seen him give to **anyone. **"And the final thing I am always so worried about just so happens to be standing in front of me."

Sakura blushed so hard she could feel her whole body glow with the heat of her blush. Sasuke laughed as Sakura started fidgeting like Hinata did. "W-Why would you be worried about me?" the woman muttered. But when Sasuke opened his mouth to answer, both of their cell phones went off. Sakura jumped at the sudden vibration in her chest pocket, having forgotten she had put it there. Sasuke couldn't help the small chuckle that came from his mouth. He placed the phone to his ear and grunted.

"Uchiha."

"Haruno."

The two stared at each other. The blush from earlier was still on Sakura's face, Sasuke noticed. But, his smugness went away like a blow to a candle flame when Kakashi said, "Get your ass down here. Hinata found something rather interesting. And bring Sakura with you; Asuma should be telling her now." Sure enough, Sakura's jaw dropped at what her new boss was telling her.

"Haruno, I know I pulled you from the Ripper case, but I'm putting you back in," Asuma Sarutobi's baritone voice said.

"B-But, sir!" Sakura exclaimed, but Asuma interrupted her sharply. "You will do it because the second suspect is of great importance to SVU and JPD." He ended the call so suddenly all Sakura could do was stand there with her mouth opening and closing like a fish. Sasuke rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to his own boss.

"We will be there soon. But who is the suspect we're talking about?" Suddenly, the phone was ripped from his hand. Sakura was bristling with anger as she said, "Who is the mother fucker who has been helping that bastard?" Kakashi could be heard taking a deep breath, muttering something like, "Good to hear from you too," and finally said the name that made Sakura drop Sasuke's phone.

"Ryan Dayton. He's been spying on SVU and JPD for the last two months."

* * *

**_Okey Dokiley, so this was a SUPER long chapter(to me it was DON'T JUDGE ME!). It was, like, 10 PAGES LONG! OMGNESS I SOUND LIKE ONE OF THOSE PREPPY BITCHES WHO THINKS THEY'RE BETTER THAN EVERYONE! SOMEONE SHOOT ME! _**

**_Sasuke: *Picks up random gun*_**

**_Sakura: *Lowers slowly* Don't do it. It was a rhetorical statement._**

**_Sasuke: Dammit. _**

**_KD:...I feel so loved XD! TOODLES!_**


End file.
